Rarely is it possible to study all of the instructions to a game before beginning to play, or to memorize the manual before turning on the computer. The excitement of improvisation lies not only in the risk of being involved but in the new ideas, as heady as the adrenaline of performance, that seems to come from nowhere.
Mary Catherine BatesonInsight, I believe, refers to the depth of understanding that comes by setting experiences, yours and mine, familiar and exotic, new and old, side by side, learning by letting them speak to one another.
Mary Catherine BatesonHuman beings tend to regard the conventions of their own societies as natural, often as sacred.
Mary Catherine BatesonA suprising number of physicians manage to continue to care about persons even after the rigors of medical training.
Mary Catherine BatesonThe timing of death, like the ending of a story, gives a changed meaning to what preceded it.
Mary Catherine Bateson