Hate mail to a long dead author, who remains annoyingly influential

At Delphi, a place in Greece where these old hags, or oracles, got visions by inhaling the methane that was exuded from fissures in the rocks, there is a temple to Apollo. The temple houses two rather famous phrases: "Know thyself" and "Everything in moderation." These quotes are often considered to be jewels—finely cut quotes that have stood the test of time. Generally speaking, yes, they're concise and sound nice. Know thyself is alright. It's a nice little self-evaluation. Figure out your strengths and weaknesses. Recognize your potentials. Find out who you are. But it sounds too much like a process of discovery. Like you're a person who's already formed but just has to be fully unveiled. It's very predestinarian. Which is fine, if you're an ancient Greek who believes in the certitude of fate. Or if you're Martin Luther or Calvin. But they'd call it something different. But it's determinism from most points of view. And that's OK. Some people like that certainty. That capital T Truth. But I'm not so clever, and don't easily discover Truth. Or sometimes Truths become truths. And then that's messy. It's also messy when someone else has a Truth they think everyone should hear, and their Truth disrupts the peace. I'll stop with the philosophizing, but I'll suffice to say that until everyone everywhere has the same Truth truths, there will be no Peace. And given the choice, I'd take peace over truth any day. But that's the scientist in me talking. And if that doesn't make sense, just ask me about it some other time. Everything in moderation. This is a f-ing lie. Moderation is an exuse. An excuse to drink, or to smoke, or to eat another piece of cake, or to not eat another piece of cake. It's an excuse to stop work at 5, or to obey the 3 second hug rule, or to not sing and dance when you're so happy you just might die. Moderation is middle of the road. It's mediocrity. It's status quo and self control and unaccomplished. Seriously, what has moderation ever done? It's a safety device. It keeps people from colliding with their cars or their lips. But I'm pretty sure it didn't build the Taj Mahal or the pyramids. It didn't invent the light bulb or paint Starry Night. I mean, do you seriously think that Oppenheimer and Einstein were moderate? What about Muhammad Ali or Mahatma Gandhi? Florence Nightengale or Napoleon Bonaparte? Jesus? Was Jesus moderate? Think about it. Or don't. Go ahead and believe the Greeks. Anything that's well written and sounds clever makes for good Truth. So tell a girl you love her moderately. Ask for a moderately skilled dentist. Listen to moderately good music. Just don't hope to find me around. In other news, my wall is chirping.