“His theories about perception as an active force were interesting,” I admitted. “But he writes like he’s afraid someone might actually understand him.” — *location: 4540* ^ref-64416 --- All explicit knowledge is translated knowledge, and all translation is imperfect.” — *location: 4885* ^ref-12696 --- “I am trying to make you understand the game,” he said. “The entire game, not just the fiddling about with stones. The point is not to play as tight as you can. The point is to be bold. To be dangerous. Be elegant.” He tapped the board with two fingers. “Any man that’s half awake can spot a trap that’s laid for him. But to stride in boldly with a plan to turn it on its ear, that is a marvelous thing.” He smiled without any of the grimness leaving his face. “To set a trap and know someone will come in wary, ready with a trick of their own, then beat them. That is twice marvelous.” Bredon’s expression softened, and his voice became almost like an entreaty. “Tak reflects the subtle turning of the world. It is a mirror we hold to life. No one wins a dance, boy. The point of dancing is the motion that a body makes. A well-played game of tak reveals the moving of a mind. There is a beauty to these things for those with eyes to see it.” He gestured at the brief and brutal lay of stones between us. “Look at that. Why would I ever want to win a game such as this?” I looked down at the board. “The point isn’t to win?” I asked. “The point,” Bredon said grandly, “is to play a beautiful game.” He lifted his hands and shrugged, his face breaking into a beatific smile. “Why would I want to win anything other than a beautiful game?” — *location: 9256* ^ref-35113 --- nothing in the world is harder than convincing someone of an unfamiliar truth. — *location: 11056* ^ref-13606 --- “It’s the questions we can’t answer that teach us the most. They teach us how to think. If you give a man an answer, all he gains is a little fact. But give him a question and he’ll look for his own answers.” — *location: 11509* ^ref-41562 --- Half of seeming clever is keeping your mouth shut at the right times. — *location: 13556* ^ref-8565 --- Travel is the great leveler, the great teacher, bitter as medicine, crueler than mirror-glass. A long stretch of road will teach you more about yourself than a hundred years of quiet introspection.” — *location: 17347* ^ref-43667 ---