#adapt

As natural selection acts by competition, it adapts the inhabitants of each country only in relation to the degree of perfection of their associates; so that we need feel no surprise at the inhabitants of any one country, although on the ordinary view supposed to have been specially created and adapted for that country, being beaten and supplanted by the naturalised productions from another land. ↗

— Charles Darwin

#darwin #evolution #nature

Suicide is a form of murder— premeditated murder. It isn’t something you do the first time you think of doing it. It takes some getting used to. And you need the means, the opportunity, the motive. A successful suicide demands good organization and a cool head, both of which are usually incompatible with the suicidal state of mind. It’s important to cultivate detachment. One way to do this is to practice imagining yourself dead, or in the process of dying. If there’s a window, you must imagine your body falling out the window. If there’s a knife, you must imagine the knife piercing your skin. If there’s a train coming, you must imagine your torso flattened under its wheels. These exercises are necessary to achieving the proper distance. The debate was wearing me out. Once you've posed that question, it won't go away. I think many people kill themselves simply to stop the debate about whether they will or they won't. Anything I thought or did was immediately drawn into the debate. Made a stupid remark—why not kill myself? Missed the bus—better put an end to it all. Even the good got in there. I liked that movie—maybe I shouldn’t kill myself. In reality, it was only part of myself I wanted to kill: the part that wanted to kill herself, that dragged me into the suicide debate and made every window, kitchen implement, and subway station a rehearsal for tragedy. ↗

— Susanna Kaysen

#memoir #mental-illness #imagination

There's a mindset of flexibility and adaptability that comes with us. We don't mind hardship. We don't mind somebody saying, 'Go in and do this nasty job.' Whatever the job is, we can do it. That's why the nation has a Marine Corps. ↗

— James F. Amos

#comes #corps #flexibility #go #hardship

I have been working up until recently with Neil Simon, who has been adapting the character to me. ↗

— Paula Abdul

#been #character #i #me #neil

The culture industry not so much adapts to the reactions of its customers as it counterfeits them. ↗

— Theodor Adorno

#culture #customers #industry #much #reactions

There has been only a civil rights movement, whose tone of voice was adapted to an audience of liberal whites. ↗

— Stokely Carmichael

#audience #been #civil #civil rights #civil rights movement

Legislation passed in the aftermath of September 11, 2001 enhanced our intelligence capabilities and strengthened our national defense, but until now our nation's immigration policies have not adapted to the needs of a post-September 11th world. ↗

— Chris Chocola

#aftermath #capabilities #defense #enhanced #immigration

Negation is the mind's first freedom, yet a negative habit is fruitful only so long as we exert ourselves to overcome it, adapt it to our needs; once acquired it can imprison us. ↗

— Emile M. Cioran

#adapt #exert #first #freedom #fruitful

You get elected, often, if you're a woman, on the strength of the women's vote; then you get into office, and you have to adapt to an overwhelmingly male environment. ↗

— Eleanor Clift

#elected #environment #get #into #male

Innovations that are guided by smallholder farmers, adapted to local circumstances, and sustainable for the economy and environment will be necessary to ensure food security in the future. ↗

— Bill Gates

#circumstances #economy #ensure #environment #farmers