از پایان‌نامه1

Death speaks:

There was a merchant in Baghdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, Master, just now when I was in the market-place I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was Death that jostled me. She looked at me and made a threatening gesture; now, lend me your horse, and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate. I will go to Samarra and there Death will not find me. The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went.

Then the merchant went down to the market-place and he saw me standing in the crowd, and he came to me and said, why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning? That was not a threatening gesture, I said, it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Baghdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.

W. Somerset Maugham

دنیل دنت-کسی که من باید روی بعضی کارهاش برای پایان‌نامه کار کنم- متن بالا را ابتدای مقاله‌ی True Believers:The intentional  strategy  and why it works اش نوشته. خب هنوز نمیدونم داستان بالا چه ربطی به موضوع مقاله می‌تواند داشته باشد چون مقاله را هنوز نخواندم. اما هر چقدر قلم دنت در بعضی نوشته هاش اذیتت کنه و بمیری و زنده بشی برای خواندن یک صفحش و همش بد و بیراه بگی که «آقای دنت حالا نمیشد شما زبان انگلیسی را با فصاحت و بلاغت نگه ندارید و متن‌های بر طمطراق و با استعاره ننویسید(خودش اینا رو در فصل اول کتاب intuition pumps اش گفته) و یک کاری نکنید که من با خودم بشینم فکر کنم خب چرا من؟! چرا دنت؟! چرا یکی دیگه این وظیفه‌ی خطیر را برای زبان انگلیسی به عهده نگرفته؟!» وقتی لا به لای نوشته‌هاش به همچین چیزهایی میرسی(حالا با هر هدفی که از نوشتن این چیزها داشته)، نرم میشی و نمیتونی دوستش نداشته باشی.