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I learned from dictionaries that out there has two meanings, one of which is 'strange' and the other 'out in the world'.

Both meanings fit into the context without any problem, which might be an error in my part.

Teachers, which do you think is the better definition?

May I ask you another question? What does discipline mean in the passage? I have referred to a number of dictionaries, only to fail to find its adequate meaning.

A 20th Century poet best known for his love poems, W.H. Auden lived a strict, regimented lifestyle. In his book, Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, Mason Currey quoted Auden as saying that “the surest way to discipline passion is to discipline time: decide what you want or ought to do during the day, then always do it at exactly the same moment every day, and passion will give you no trouble.” For the Audens out there, you know exactly when your mind works at full capacity and you take advantage of it. That’s why you insist on following a daily routine. At full creative flight, you generally try to wake up early and hit the sack early, meeting the times set in your schedule, and you are highly productive because of it.

https://learn.canva.com/learn/creative-genius-quiz/

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    try using the word strange in that sentence instead of "out there", and you see it doesn't fit at all does it. "For the Audens strange, you know exactly..." so it can't possibly be that meaning whereas "For the Audens out in the world, you know exactly..."
    – WendyG
    Jun 11, 2018 at 16:22

2 Answers 2

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To discipline passion there means to restrain it, to harness it, and to put it to productive use.

out there means "out in the world" or "out there in the audience". It can be understood as a clause:

... for the Audens [who are] out there.

That is, for poets who are like Auden, and who may be reading these words.

The other meaning, "weird, strange, somewhat crazy, extreme" would not be found following the noun like that, without BE. That is, "out there" is used as a predicate about a subject and is spoken as if it had "scare-quotes" around it:

Her poetry is really "out there".

and very rarely as an adjective that appears before the noun:

We will be reading some of his really "out there" poetry this week. possible, but relatively rare

but never as an adjective following the noun like time immemorial:

His poetry "out there" is my favorite. NO, not when it means "strange, etc"

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I'm not exactly a teacher but I'm going to try and answer your questions.

I don't think that the meaning strange for out there fits perfectly in this context. I think that the author is adressing the creators that may be reading his text. Those creators are out there, outside his office, on the internet, all around the world.

About your second question ...

Acording to Cambridge Dictionary

discipline

to teach someone to behave in a controlled way

I'm trying to discipline myself to eat less chocolate.

The author is suggesting how you can discipline yourself, your passion, controlling your time.

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