There's a famous quote on the dialectic: > You may not be interested in the dialectic, but the dialectic is interested in you. It is often mistranslated with

There's a famous quote on the dialectic: > You may not be interested in the dialectic, but the dialectic is interested in you. It is often mistranslated with "war" in place of "the dialectic" and is often misattributed to Leon Trotsky. [0] The dialectic in this case was substantially more politicized than the one Lonsdale discusses. So the mistranslation to "war" is somewhat forgivable. I like this quote because it neatly captures the essence of dialectical thinking. The dialectic is provoking, extremes always are, and once you're engaged it's all-consuming. This isn't a bad thing, Lonsdale is encouraging us to engage with the dialectic, and I believe we should listen to what he has to say. However, the dialectic is a volatile thing, especially the modern dialectic, which might not be too many steps removed from the dialectic of Trotsky's era. [0] https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Leon_Trotsky#Misattributed https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Leon_Trotsky#Misattributed Relevant X-Files scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj4ZZllANMg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj4ZZllANMg