--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... A lobotomy involved some kind of rod…" description: "\"“... A lobotomy involved some kind of rod or probe inserted through the eyesocket,the term was always \"frontal\" lobotomy;but was there any other kind?K..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/187/david-foster-wallace-161_despair_a-lobotomy-involved-some-kind-of-rod-or_456132.jpg" --- # ... A lobotomy involved some kind of rod or probe inserted… ![“... A lobotomy involved some kind of rod or probe inserted through the eyesocket,the term was always "frontal" lobotomy;but was there any other kind?Knowing that internal stress could cause failure on the exam merely set up internal stress about the prospect of internal stress. There must be some…” quote by David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/187/david-foster-wallace-161_despair_a-lobotomy-involved-some-kind-of-rod-or_456132.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/187/david-foster-wallace-161_despair_a-lobotomy-involved-some-kind-of-rod-or_456132.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/187/david-foster-wallace-161_despair_a-lobotomy-involved-some-kind-of-rod-or_456132.jpg) > ““... A lobotomy involved some kind of rod or probe inserted through the eyesocket,the term was always "frontal" lobotomy;but was there any other kind?Knowing that internal stress could cause failure on the exam merely set up internal stress about the prospect of internal stress. There must be some other way to deal with the knowledge of the disastrous consequences fear and stress could bring about.Some answer or trick of the will:the ability not to think about it.What if everyone knew this trick but Claude Sylvanshine?He tended to conceptualize some ultimate,platonic-level Terror as a bird of prey in whose mere aloft shadow the prey was stricken and paralyzed,tembling as the shadow enlarged and became inevitability.He frequently had this feeling:What if there was something essentially wrong with Claude Sylvanshine that wasn't wrong with other people?What if he was simply ill-suited,the way some people are born without limbs or certain organs?The neurology of failure.What if he was simply born and destined to live in the shadow of Total Fear and Despair,and all his so called activities were pathetic attempts to distract him from the inevitable?...”” [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stress can become a self‑fulfilling prophecy, and mental tricks may mask deeper anxieties. **In simple terms:** Stress can create more stress; mental tricks may hide true fear. Key Takeaway Identify and address underlying anxieties directly. Themes psychology stress self‑deception Mood anxious introspective Type psychological philosophical When to use this quote - academic life - personal coping - therapy sessions Key Concepts Cognitive avoidance fear of failure mental health exam preparation Questions to Reflect On - What underlying fear drives your stress? - How can you confront rather than avoid anxiety? A Different Perspective Tricks may provide temporary relief but not long‑term resolution. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Stress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stress/) ## Related quotes > [I'd rather have a bottle in front of me, than a frontal lobotomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-d-rather-have-a-bottle-in-front-of-me-than-a-frontal-lobotomy/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“The half-full bottle in front of me, is better than a full-frontal lobotomy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-s-mokha/the-half-full-bottle-in-front-of-me-is-better-than-a-full-frontal/) [P.S. Mokha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-s-mokha/) > [I'd rather have a full bottle in front of me than a full frontal lobotomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/i-d-rather-have-a-full-bottle-in-front-of-me-than-a-full-frontal/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [“I would rather have a free bottle in front of me than a pre-frontal lobotomy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-martin/i-would-rather-have-a-free-bottle-in-front-of-me-than-a-pre-frontal/) [Dean Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-martin/) > [“Knowing that internal stress could cause failure on the exam merely set up internal stress about the prospect of internal stress. There must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/knowing-that-internal-stress-could-cause-failure-on-the-exam-merely/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Willpower can produce short-term change, but it creates constant internal stress because you haven't dealt with the root cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/willpower-can-produce-short-term-change-but-it-creates-constant/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [“That tension creates the internal stress that drives the anxiety when we are putting in the hours, but end up having nothing to show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-harrington/that-tension-creates-the-internal-stress-that-drives-the-anxiety-when/) Nina Harrington > [“Despite the intervening six decades of scientific inquiry since Selye’s groundbreaking work, the physiological impact of the emotions is still far from fully appreciated.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/despite-the-intervening-six-decades-of-scientific-inquiry-since-selye/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [Deposits of unfinished grief reside in more American hearts that I ever imagined. Until these pockets are opened and their contents aired openly, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kavanaugh/deposits-of-unfinished-grief-reside-in-more-american-hearts-that-i/) Robert Kavanaugh > [I'm one of those gay people who's constantly reminded of how fortunate I am to live now and not to be Ennis and Jack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/i-m-one-of-those-gay-people-who-s-constantly-reminded-of-how/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) > [I'm fat and proud of it. If someone asks me how my diet is going, I say 'Fine - how was your lobotomy?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/i-m-fat-and-proud-of-it-if-someone-asks-me-how-my-diet-is-going-i-say/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [I don't know what kind of lobotomy they get in advertising school, but they find bits of pop culture or art that has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wilson/i-don-t-know-what-kind-of-lobotomy-they-get-in-advertising-school-but/) [John Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wilson/) > [Just now when I said, "I have a crush on you," you didn't say, "no way loser". I'd rather have a lobotomy by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/just-now-when-i-said-i-have-a-crush-on-you-you-didn-t-say-no-way/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [“Hell, who was she kidding? The only thing that could clear her head today would be a lobotomy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-bell/hell-who-was-she-kidding-the-only-thing-that-could-clear-her-head/) [Christine Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-bell/) > [When discussing complex systems like brains and other societies, it is easy to oversimplify: I call this Occam's lobotomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-j-good/when-discussing-complex-systems-like-brains-and-other-societies-it-is/) [I. J. Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-j-good/) ## More by David Foster Wallace > [“I felt more solidly composed, now that I was horizontal. I was impossible to knock down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-felt-more-solidly-composed-now-that-i-was-horizontal-i-was/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“We all have our little solipsistic delusions, ghastly intuitions of utter singularity: that we are the only one in the house who ever fills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/we-all-have-our-little-solipsistic-delusions-ghastly-intuitions-of/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“It's no accident that in a bureaucracy getting fired is called 'termination,' as in ontological erasure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-s-no-accident-that-in-a-bureaucracy-getting-fired-is-called/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Footnote: 79) The anchor is gigantic and must weigh a hundred tons, and -- delightfully -- it really is anchor-shaped, i.e. the same shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/footnote-79-the-anchor-is-gigantic-and-must-weigh-a-hundred-tons-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“The paradoxical intercourse of audience and celebrity. The suppressed awareness that the whole reason ordinary people found celebrity fascinating was that they were not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-paradoxical-intercourse-of-audience-and-celebrity-the-suppressed/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“I am coming to see that the sensation of the worst nightmares, a sensation that can be felt asleep or awake, is identical to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-am-coming-to-see-that-the-sensation-of-the-worst-nightmares-a/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“He cranks the condo’s AC way down at night and still most mornings wakes up soaked, fetally curled, entombed in that kind of psychic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/he-cranks-the-condo-s-ac-way-down-at-night-and-still-most-mornings/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“To me, at least in retrospect, the really interesting question is why dullness proves to be such a powerful impediment to attention. Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“If you’re subjected to enough great salesmen and salespitches and marketing concepts for long enough—like from your earliest Saturday-morning cartoons, let’s say—it is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/if-you-re-subjected-to-enough-great-salesmen-and-salespitches-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Why is the truth usually not just un- but anti-interesting?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/why-is-the-truth-usually-not-just-un-but-anti-interesting/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“She almost reminds the engineer of certain types in high school whom everyone adored because you sensed it made no difference to them whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/she-almost-reminds-the-engineer-of-certain-types-in-high-school-whom/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [To be, in a word, unborable… It is the key to modern life. If you are immune to boredom, there is literally nothing you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-be-in-a-word-unborable-it-is-the-key-to-modern-life-if-you-are/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“It is within your power to experience a crowded, loud, slow, consumer-hell-type situation as not only meaningful but sacred, on fire with the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-is-within-your-power-to-experience-a-crowded-loud-slow-consumer/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“The happy pleasure of the person alone, yes?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-happy-pleasure-of-the-person-alone-yes/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [There is such a thing as raw, unalloyed, agendaless kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/there-is-such-a-thing-as-raw-unalloyed-agendaless-kindness/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) [Explore all 999 David Foster Wallace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) ## More Despair quotes > [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“She searched her mind for a single day when it had felt good to be alive. There must have been one, surely?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-abbott/she-searched-her-mind-for-a-single-day-when-it-had-felt-good-to-be/) [Rachel Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-abbott/) > [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [Your spirit is the part of you that seeks meaning and purpose. It's the part drawn to hope, that will not give in to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/your-spirit-is-the-part-of-you-that-seeks-meaning-and-purpose-it-s/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The skin and shell of things Though fair are not Thy wish nor prayer but got My meer despair of wings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-vaughan/the-skin-and-shell-of-things-though-fair-are-not-thy-wish-nor-prayer/) [Henry Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-vaughan/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Enough for this bow & arrow. It caused me nothing but sorrow. No need for another tomorrow. In your heart, I will never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louaiq8/enough-for-this-bow-arrow-it-caused-me-nothing-but-sorrow-no-need-for/) Louaiq8 > [True repentance never leads to despair. Its leads home. It leads to grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/true-repentance-never-leads-to-despair-its-leads-home-it-leads-to/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [Do not consider despair as a thick and high wall standing on your way; it is just a darkness and you can still walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/do-not-consider-despair-as-a-thick-and-high-wall-standing-on-your-way/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Despair is the price one pays for setting oneself an impossible aim. It is, one is told, the unforgivable sin, but it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/despair-is-the-price-one-pays-for-setting-oneself-an-impossible-aim/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-where-it-our-duty-to-act/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I have noticed that there is no dissatisfaction like that of the rich. Feed a man, clothe him, put him in a good house,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-noticed-that-there-is-no-dissatisfaction-like-that-of-the-rich/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) [Browse all 3,181 Despair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“... A lobotomy involved some kind of rod or probe inserted through the eyesocket,the term was always \"frontal\" lobotomy;but was there any other kind?Knowing that internal stress could cause failure on the exam merely set up internal stress about the prospect of internal stress. There must be some other way to deal with the knowledge of the disastrous consequences fear and stress could bring about.Some answer or trick of the will:the ability not to think about it.What if everyone knew this trick but Claude Sylvanshine?He tended to conceptualize some ultimate,platonic-level Terror as a bird of prey in whose mere aloft shadow the prey was stricken and paralyzed,tembling as the shadow enlarged and became inevitability.He frequently had this feeling:What if there was something essentially wrong with Claude Sylvanshine that wasn't wrong with other people?What if he was simply ill-suited,the way some people are born without limbs or certain organs?The neurology of failure.What if he was simply born and destined to live in the shadow of Total Fear and Despair,and all his so called activities were pathetic attempts to distract him from the inevitable?...”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Foster Wallace" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/a-lobotomy-involved-some-kind-of-rod-or-probe-inserted-through-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Despair" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/a-lobotomy-involved-some-kind-of-rod-or-probe-inserted-through-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/187/david-foster-wallace-161_despair_a-lobotomy-involved-some-kind-of-rod-or_456132.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/187/david-foster-wallace-161_despair_a-lobotomy-involved-some-kind-of-rod-or_456132.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/187/david-foster-wallace-161_despair_a-lobotomy-involved-some-kind-of-rod-or_456132.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“... A lobotomy involved some kind of rod or probe inserted through the eyesocket,the term was always…” — David Foster Wallace", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Foster Wallace", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“... A lobotomy involved some kind...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/a-lobotomy-involved-some-kind-of-rod-or-probe-inserted-through-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/a-lobotomy-involved-some-kind-of-rod-or-probe-inserted-through-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```