There is nothing so deep as the gleaming surface of the aphorism

Certain types of people dominate the form. Why? An aphorism is a short text that "promises a universal truth, pithy wisdom, summed up with a piercing snap." But there is a problem with these truths. Noreen Masud, the author of "Hard Language: Stevie Smith and the Aphorism", explores how aphorisms have created an urgent modern problem that we live in political and plutocratic environments, which remain unthreatened by significant new information and insights.