“Grown-ups love figures… When you tell them you’ve made a new friend they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you “What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies? ” Instead they demand “How old is he? How much does he weigh? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?” Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him. If you were to say to the grown-ups: “I saw a beautiful house made of rosy bricks, with geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof” they would not be able to get an idea of that house at all. you have to say to them: “I saw a house that cost $20000”. Then they would exclaim: “Oh, what a pretty house that is!”.
~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The Little Prince
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