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Category: Quotes

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More Quotes

I periodically post my most recently collected quotes (over the past 3 months). I just love collecting quotes, because there’s a novel in every sentence–it’s high-impact reading. I collect these from many sources, though more than a few of the following were presented to me by The Quotations Page, which I use as my homepage. Enjoy!

“I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him.”
Booker T. Washington

“If you cut yourself in half and both sides lived, which side would be you?”
Anonymous on Reddit.com

“Think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are stupider than that”
George Carlin

“If a thing isn’t worth saying, you sing it. ”
Pierre Beaumarchais (1732 - 1799)

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”
Carl Jung (1875 - 1961)

“Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting.”
Alan Dean Foster, “To the Vanishing Point”

“To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.”
George Orwell

“I haven’t failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
Thomas Edison, on asked how it felt to fail 10,000 times before he figured out the light bulb.

“It is a curious thing… that every creed promises a paradise which will be absolutely uninhabitable for anyone of civilized taste.”
Evelyn Waugh (1903 - 1966)

Complexity is the problem. Moving it from hardware to software, or vice versa, doesn’t help. Simplicity is the only answer. There was a product many years ago called the Canon Cat. It was a simple, dedicated word processor; done very nicely in Forth. Didn’t succeed commercially. But then, most products don’t. I despair. Technology, and our very civilization, will get more and more complex until it collapses. There is no opposing pressure to limit this growth. No environmental group saying: Count the parts in a hybrid car to judge its efficiency or reliability or maintainability.

-Charles Moore, who is a pioneer software developer. The ‘Forth’ language he invented is still in use today, particularly by NASA

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”
Upton Sinclair

“We hit Iraq because we could. That’s the real truth.”
Thomas Friedman

“Man is ready to die for an idea, provided that idea is not quite clear to him.”
Paul Eldridge

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Guess this author

The more things change, the more they stay the same, it seems. See if you can guess who authored this quotation on capitalism vs. socialism: (all emphases are mine)

The economic anarchy of capitalist society as it exists today is, in my opinion, the real source of the evil. We see before us a huge community of producers the members of which are unceasingly striving to deprive each other of the fruits of their collective labor—not by force, but on the whole in faithful compliance with legally established rules. In this respect, it is important to realize that the means of production—that is to say, the entire productive capacity that is needed for producing consumer goods as well as additional capital goods—may legally be, and for the most part are, the private property of individuals. For the sake of simplicity, in the discussion that follows I shall call “workers” all those who do not share in the ownership of the means of production—although this does not quite correspond to the customary use of the term. The owner of the means of production is in a position to purchase the labor power of the worker. By using the means of production, the worker produces new goods which become the property of the capitalist.

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Quote time

I love to collect quotes. Such a high ratio of thought-provocation per word! I’d even bet that there is a the seed for a novel in most well-honed quotes. I collect these from many sources, though more than a few of the following were presented to me by The Quotations Page, which I use as my homepage. Some of these quotes have made the rounds (the oldies-but-goodies), though I’d bet that you’ll find more than a few that you’ve never seen before. Enjoy.

In mathematics you don’t understand things. You just get used to them.

Johann von Neumann (1903 - 1957)

Doing a thing well is often a waste of time.

Robert Byrne

It’s not the voting that’s democracy, it’s the counting.

Tom Stoppard (1937 - ), Jumpers (1972) act 1

The great thing about being the only species that makes a distinction between right and wrong is that we can make up the rules for ourselves as we go along.

Douglas Adams , Last Chance to See

“It is not acceptable to have a religion where the alternative to faith is punishment — that’s how you train dogs, not develop people.”

Deng Ming-Dao

When ideas fail, words come in very handy.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)

I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again.

Oscar Wilde

A physicist is an atom’s way of knowing about atoms.

George Wald (1906 - )

Furious activity is no substitute for understanding.

H. H. Williams

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Quotes on helping

Quotes on helping

Here are several quotes about helping via The Quotations Page:

If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain: If I can ease one life the aching,or cool one pain,or help one fainting robin unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.

Emily Dickinson

Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.

Maria Montessori (1870 - 1952)

In giving advice, seek to help, not please, your friend.

Solon (638 BC - 559 BC)

All over the place, from the popular culture to the propaganda system, there is constant pressure to make people feel that they are helpless, that the only role they can have is to ratify decisions and to consume.

Noam Chomsky (1928 - )

I will charge thee nothing but the promise that thee will help the next man thee finds in trouble.

Mennonite Proverb

He helps others most, who shows them how to help themselves.

A. P. Gouthey

It is not so much our friend’s help that helps us as the confidence of their help.

Epicurus (341 BC - 270 BC)

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Hanging quote

Hanging quote

A few days ago, I spied this quote hanging on Lisa Rokusek’s wall:

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Definition of courage

Definition of courage

I was at a friend’s home tonight, and I noticed a quote that he had framed. It is a line from the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, uttered by Atticus Finch. It is a quote that was never more relevant than today.

atticus-finch-quote-lo-res

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A Few Quotes To Start The Year Off

This first is something for all of us to contemplate when engaging each other in debate.

Since logic and sensibility do not coincide, and since both have legitimate claims upon our decision, the great and recurring debate about century boundaries simply cannot be resolved.  Some questions have answers because obtainable information decrees a particular conclusion….Some questions [...]

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The single quote that best sums up the Administration of George W. Bush

“Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.”
President George W. Bush, Aug. 5, 2004

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The mind of Steven Wright

From the first time I saw him perform I loved the deadpan comedy of Steven Wright. His view of life is coldly objective and sometimes skewed, but always funny. Here are a few of my favorite one-liners, some of which are relevant to the ongoing conversations here at DI.
Last night I played a blank tape [...]

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Equality and History

In the interests of discussion concerning the election and some ideas that get bandied about here from time to time, I thought I’d post one of my very favorite quotes.  This comes from a wonderful book about the Heroic Myths of the Greeks, The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony by Roberto Calasso.  I recommend this [...]

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More of my favorite quotes

I collect quotes (who doesn’t?). Really, it’s a good hobby. It’s cheap and often interesting. When they are really good quotes, it’s like a novel condensed to a mere sentence.
The first two of this set are about one of my favorite topics, rampant materialism. The others all relate closely [...]

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What is truth? Here are some quotes to consider.

What is truth?  Such a timely topic these days, now that we seem to be in the post-truth era.  I gathered these quotes on the meaning of truth from my favorite quote site, The Quotations Page.

In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
George Orwell (1903 - 1950)
Any fool can tell [...]

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Some lessons I’ve learned to get me through life

I’m constantly learning valuable new lessons, but I generally find it difficult to recall any particular good lessons at any particular moment. I got the same problem with jokes. I’ve heard a lot of good jokes in my life, but if I’m put on the spot, I’m at a loss to remember more [...]