“I seek clarity in life’s dilemmas because blurriness makes me dizzy.”
— Hipatia the Plank (c. 1530–1598)
A Renaissance-era philosopher and optician’s assistant, Hipatia the Plank was known for seeing things more clearly than most — though this was partially thanks to her habit of polishing spectacles even when no one asked her to.
She was famed for her uncompromising views, her monastic wardrobe, and her refusal to attend debates in candlelight for fear of metaphorical ambiguity. Her treatise “On Fog and Misunderstanding” was banned by the Guild of Mystics for being “excessively illuminating.”
This quote — simple and profound — reminds us that in a world muddied by half-truths, pixelated logic, and vague instructions, there’s still value in squinting toward the truth. Or at least cleaning your lenses.
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