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And human instinct is ancient and reliable, utterly mysterious and possibly capable of great genius. I believe that refined, fluent instincts are a person's most valuable asset. My own instincts have repeatedly guided me against the grain of logic and probability. When I have trusted and followed their direction, they have never been wrong. I don't know how or why. But I know that every significant experience-positive or negative-sharpens them and makes them more accurate.

And human instinct is ancient and reliable, utterly mysterious and possibly capable of great genius. I believe that refined, fluent instincts are a person's most valuable asset. My own instincts have repeatedly guided me against the grain of logic and probability. When I have trusted and followed their direction, they have never been wrong. I don't know how or why. But I know that every significant experience-positive or negative-sharpens them and makes them more accurate.

Approximate author period: c. 1965 AD · modern

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Author or tradition
Augusten Burroughs
Attribution: attributed
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Historical period
Approximate author period: c. 1965 AD · modern
Approximate author-period evidence for Augusten Burroughs: documented birth year 1965; activity date not established. Wikidata Q767439, inspected 2026-10-08. Not a quotation composition date or independent verification of attribution. Source: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q767439 (accessed 2026-10-08).
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Supplied reference C; CSV row 353490; supplied attribution, independently unverified

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