“Language and hearing are seated in the cerebral cortex, the folded gray matter that covers the first couple of millimeters of the outer brain like wrapping paper. When one experiences silence, absent even reading, the cerebral cortex typically rests. Meanwhile,… — Michael Finkel Copy Share Image
I never do formal interviews. I don't use a tape recorder. I take notes but occasionally. — Michael Finkel Copy Share Image
“He has seen the bottomless nonsense of our world and has decided, like most of us, to simply try to tolerate it. He appears… — Michael Finkel Copy Share Image
America might be the land of second chances, but it ain't the land of third chances. — Michael Finkel Copy Share Image
“The American essayist William Deresiewicz wrote that “no real excellence, personal or social, artistic, philosophical, scientific, or moral, can arise without solitude.” — Michael Finkel Copy Share Image
“The first great literary work about solitude, the Tao Te Ching, was written in ancient China, likely in the sixth century B.C., by a… — Michael Finkel Copy Share Image
There have always been hermits: people who want to get away from other humans. Literally, some of the first extant books and poems found… — Michael Finkel Copy Share Image
I think many people have this sense that something about modern society - the screens, the noise, the traffic, the constant busyness - has… — Michael Finkel Copy Share Image
I'd lied many times: to bolster my credentials, to elicit sympathy, to make myself appear less ordinary. — Michael Finkel Copy Share Image
“He never bothered listening to sports; the bored him, every one of them.” — Michael Finkel Copy Share Image
“Japanese researchers at Chiba University found that a daily fifteen-minute walk in the woods caused significant decreases in cortisol, along with a modest drop… — Michael Finkel Copy Share Image
My fight-or-flight mechanism... had served me well in Gaza, in Afghanistan, and all the places I'd been. — Michael Finkel Copy Share Image
