7 Quotes by Sönke Ahrens

Learning, thinking, and writing should not be about accumulating knowledge, but about becoming a different person with a different way of thinking. This is done by questioning one’s own thinking routines in light of new experiences and facts.

The real enemy of independent thinking is not an external authority, but our own inertia. The ability to generate new ideas has more to do with breaking with old habits of thinking than with coming up with as many ideas as possible.

Those who think of themselves as being open-minded are often even more prone to stick to their first understanding as they believe themselves to be without natural prejudices and therefore don’t see the need to counter-balance them. If we think we can ‘hold back’ on interpretation, we are fooling ourselves.

The most important advantage of writing is that it helps us confront ourselves when we do not understand something as well as we would like to believe.

If I want something, it’s more time. The only thing that really is a nuisance is the lack of time.

Every intellectual endeavor starts with a note.

If you haven’t written along the way, the brain is indeed the only place to turn to.