"If I'd written all the truth I knew for the past ten years, about 600 people - including me - would be rotting in prison cells from Rio to Seattle today. Absolute truth is a very rare and dangerous commodity in the context of professional journalism."

Wisdom

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Thematic Reflection

This quotation examines the core nature of Wisdom as articulated by Hunter S. Thompson. Within historical and literary traditions, reflections on Wisdom provide actionable mental models, challenging individuals to evaluate personal ethics, self-discipline, and daily actions.

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About Hunter S. Thompson

Hunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author, regarded as a pioneer of New Journalism along with Gay Talese, Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, Joan Didion, and Tom Wolfe. He rose to prominence with the book Hell's Angels (1967), for which he lived a year among the Hells Angels motorcycle club to write a first-hand account of their lives and experiences. In 1970, he wrote an unconventional article titled "The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved" for Scanlan's Monthly, which further raised his profile as a countercultural figure. It also set him on the path to establish the subgenre of New Journalism that he called "Gonzo", a style in which the writer becomes central to, and a participant in, the narrative.

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More by Hunter S. Thompson

"In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity."

— Hunter S. Thompson
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"Good news is rare these days, and every glittering ounce of it should be cherished and hoarded and worshipped and fondled like a priceless diamond."

— Hunter S. Thompson
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"If Sunday is the Lord's day, then Saturday belongs to the Devil. It is the only night of the week when he gives out Free passes to the Late show at the Too Much Fun Club."

— Hunter S. Thompson
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"Marathon running, like golf, is a game for players, not winners. That is why Callaway sells golf clubs and Nike sells running shoes. But running is unique in that the world's best racers are on the same course, at the same time, as amateurs, who have as much chance of winning as your average weekend warrior would scoring a touchdown in the NFL."

— Hunter S. Thompson
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More about Wisdom

"I'm a geeky toy collector, and to have toys of your own characters is unbelievably cool."

— Craig McCracken
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"Wisdom principle 66 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 18."

— Virginia Woolf
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"It is a profound truth that every second given to regret is a precious second stolen from creation."

— George Ade
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"Wisdom principle 90 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 46."

— Richard Amory
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