3 ms·
The precautions taken against thieves who open trunks, search bags, or ransack tills, consist in securing with cords and fastening with bolts and locks. This is
by chuangtzu 13y ago
The precautions taken against thieves who open trunks, search bags, or ransack tills, consist in securing with cords and fastening with bolts and locks. This is what the world calls wit. But a strong thief comes and carries off the till on his shoulders, with box and bag, and runs away with them. His only fear is that the cords and locks should not be strong enough! Therefore, does not what the world used to call wit simply amount to saving up for the strong thief? And I venture to state that nothing of that which the world calls wit is otherwise than saving up for strong thieves; and nothing of that which the world calls sage wisdom is other than hoarding up for strong thieves.
- supergirl 13y agowat?
- nazgulnarsil 13y agoThis is actually quite interesting though worded a bit strangely/abstractly. He's saying that the strong thief prefers a world in which low level thievery is guarded against because it makes targets fatten themselves up believing themselves to be safe.
- chuangtzu 13y agoWould the thief then prefer a world full of greater doubts?
- mc32 13y agoI think s/he's saying that current security only protects us from script kiddies; so whatever we do only 'protects' data from them but data cannot be protected against state-sponsored attacks (but gives people a false sense of security)? Altho' I don't quite agree with some of the implied premise, because it's not as if script kiddies can/would take data away (making it unavailable). But the false sense of security is relevant.
- icebraining 13y agoIt's a quote: http://homepages.engineering.auckland.ac.nz/~snor007/docs/Tao/ChuangTse/ChuangTse.html http://homepages.engineering.auckland.ac.nz/~snor007/docs/Ta...
- kawera 13y agoHis only fear is that the cords and locks should not be strong enough! Ha!
- faster 13y agoFor you heathens <g>, this is from a post-Laotzu Taoist essay called 'Opening Trunks'. This is a different translation from the one I learned, but the meaning is still clear. It's relevant to the discussion, in an abstract way.
- gruseom 13y agoChuang Tzu is worth naming in his own right. His book may not be as elegant as the Tao Te Ching (is anything?) but it's great. He's also the one who came up with "Am I a man who dreamt he was a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming he is a man?" HN doesn't tolerate novelty accounts, but if there were going to be an exception, "apropos quotes from Taoist classics" is pretty good.
- auvrw 13y ago啊 snap Q: what do you call the thief who takes the trunk back to his master? A: a golden retriever better than a black dog, but this kind of thieving still seems like such a waste of talent. why not go work for lemote or xiami and make something useful?