Taking things from one source is plagiarism; taking things from several sources is research.
John McPheeTravel by canoe is not a necessity, and will nevermore be the most efficient way to get from one region to another, or even from one lake to another anywhere. A canoe trip has become simply a rite of oneness with certain terrain, a diversion off the field, an art performed not because it is a necessity but because there is value in the art itself.
John McPheeA quarter-horse jockey learns to think of a twenty-second race as if it were occurring across twenty minutes--in distinct parts, spaced in his consciousness. Each nuance of the ride comes to him as he builds his race. If you can do the opposite with deep time, living in it and thinking in it until the large numbers settle into place, you can sense how swiftly the initial earth packed itself together, how swiftly continents have assembled and come apart, how far and rapidly continents travel, how quickly mountains rise and how quickly they disintegrate and disappear.
John McPheeOn a certain scale, it does look like I do a lot. But thatโs my day, all day long, sitting there wondering when Iโm going to be able to get started. And the routine of doing this six days a week puts a little drop in a bucket each day, and thatโs the key. Because if you put a drop in a bucket every day, after three hundred and sixty-five days, the bucketโs going to have some water in it.
John McPhee