Better than I know myself?

I received salutory lesson in the power of Web 2.0 over coffee this morning.

Discussing Martin Heidegger, as we often do, I mentioned that I felt slightly guilty at not having read Being and Time. doctor_squale, who had obviously memorised the contents of my LibraryThing, surprised me by informing me that I already own a copy (I don't. I haven't actually got a copy of B&T itself but rather Existence and Being, which contains an outline of Being and Time and translations of four of Heidegger's essays).

All of which reminded me of a particularly nice quote from Jessa Crispin, which I happened across earlier this week, which recommends a method for rendering Heidegger comprehensible:

William James once wrote that he only felt like he truly understood Hegel when he was high on nitrous oxide. I feel the same way about Heidegger.

Which, I think, explains where I've been going wrong...