Schopenhauer recounts that, on a very cold day, a group of porcupines approached each other to warm themselves. However, the closer they got, the more their quills hurt each other. They moved away, but the cold returned. After several attempts, they discovered that the best solution was to maintain an intermediate distance: close enough to warm each other, but not so close as to hurt each other. He concludes by applying this to human beings: The need for companionship and affection brings us closer, but our flaws, selfishness, and personality "thorns" end up causing pain. The solution is usually a polite distance—neither total isolation nor excessive intimacy.