Freeman Dyson on Technology
“Technology is a gift of God. After the gift of life it is perhaps the greatest of God’s gifts. It is the mother of civilizations, of arts and of sciences.” Freeman Dyson
Oscar Wilde Cynical Quote
“Arguments are to be avoided; they are always vulgar and often convincing.” Oscar Wilde Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 – 1900)
Putt’s Law
“Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage, and those who manage what they do not understand.” Archibald Putt
Thomas A. Edison on Thinking
“There is no expedient to which a man will not go to avoid the labor of thinking.” Thomas A. Edison US inventor (1847 – 1931)
Thomas Jefferson on Liberty
“I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” Thomas Jefferson, to Archibald Stuart, 1791 3rd president of US (1743 – 1826)
Frank Lloyd Wright on Truth
“The truth is more important than the facts.” Frank Lloyd Wright US architect (1869 – 1959)
Jean Cocteau on Movies
“A film is a petrified fountain of thought.” Jean Cocteau
Mahatma Gandhi on Work
“Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.” Mahatma Gandhi Indian political and spiritual leader (1869 – 1948)
Clive Barnes on Television
“Television is the first truly democratic culture – the first culture available to everybody and entirely governed by what the people want. The most terrifying thing is what people do want.” Clive Barnes
Zig Ziglar on Success
“It was character that got us out of bed, commitment moved us into action, and discipline enabled us to follow through.” Zig Ziglar
Peter Ustinov on Science
“If the world should blow itself up, the last audible voice would be that of an expert saying it can’t be done.” Peter Ustinov English actor & author (1921 – 2004)
Esther Dyson on Internet
“The Internet is like alcohol in some sense. It accentuates what you would do anyway. If you want to be a loner, you can be more alone. If you want to connect, it makes it easier to connect.” Esther Dyson, Interview in Time Magazine, October 2005
Carl Sagan on Imagination
“Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.” Carl Sagan
Sun Tzu on Fear
“Fear is the true enemy, the only enemy” Sun Tzu Chinese general & military strategist (~400 BC)
Anne Frank on Happiness
“Whoever is happy will make others happy too.” Anne Frank
Nikola Tesla on Science
“Today’s scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander off through equation after equation, and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality.” Nikola Tesla, Modern Mechanics and Inventions, July, 1934 US (Serbian-born) electrical inventor (1857 – 1943)
Sharon Salzberg on Life and Education
“We learn and grow and are transformed not so much by what we do but by why and how we do it.” Sharon Salzberg, O Magazine, The Power of Intention, January 2004
M. C. Escher on Work
“My work is a game, a very serious game.” M. C. Escher Dutch artist (1898 – 1972)
Saint Thomas Aquinas on Friendship
“There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.” Saint Thomas Aquinas
Victor Hugo on Society
“There is always more misery among the lower classes than there is humanity in the higher.” Victor Hugo, Les Miserables, 1862 French dramatist, novelist, & poet (1802 – 1885)
Bertrand Russell on Scepticism
“It is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no ground whatsoever for supposing it is true.” Bertrand Russell, Sceptical Essays (1928), “On the Value of Scepticism” British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 – 1970)
Ralph Waldo Emerson on Greatness
“To be great is to be misunderstood.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, An Essay on Self-Reliance US essayist & poet (1803 – 1882)
Louis Pasteur on Science
“There are no such things as applied sciences, only applications of science.” Louis Pasteur French biologist & bacteriologist (1822 – 1895)
Charles de Gaulle on Politics
“In politics it is necessary either to betray one’s country or the electorate. I prefer to betray the electorate.” Charles de Gaulle
Charles Kuralt on Travel
“Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything.” Charles Kuralt
H. L. Mencken on Imagination
“Any man who afflicts the human race with ideas must be prepared to see them misunderstood.” H. L. Mencken US editor (1880 – 1956)
Cullen Hightower on Wisdom
“Wisdom is what’s left after we’ve run out of personal opinions.” Cullen Hightower
Otto von Bismarck on Law
“Laws are like sausages. It’s better not to see them being made.” Otto von Bismarck German Prussian politician (1815 – 1898)
Arthur C. Clarke on Science Fiction
“Politicians should read science fiction, not westerns and detective stories.” Arthur C. Clarke English physicist & science fiction author (1917 – 2008)
Helen Keller on Knowledge
“Knowledge is happiness, because to have knowledge – broad, deep knowledge – is to know true ends from false, and lofty things from low. To know the thoughts and deeds that have marked man’s progress is to feel the great heartthrobs of humanity through the centuries; and if one does not feel in these pulsations a heavenward striving, one must indeed be deaf to the harmonies of life.” Helen Keller
Jef Mallett on Opinion
“An opinion should be the result of thought, not a substitute for it.” Jef Mallett Frazz, 04-04-07
James M. Barrie on Work
“Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else.” James M. Barrie Scottish dramatist & novelist (1860 – 1937)
Richard Feynman on Science
“I believe that a scientist looking at nonscientific problems is just as dumb as the next guy.” Richard Feynman US educator & physicist (1918 – 1988)
Seneca on Literature
“I shall never be ashamed of citing a bad author if the line is good.” Seneca Roman dramatist, philosopher, & politician (5 BC – 65 AD)
Andy Rooney on Computers
“Computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don’t need to be done.” Andy Rooney US news commentator (1919 – )
Bertrand Russell on Controversies
“The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way.” Bertrand Russell British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 – 1970)
Howard Scott on Business
“Criminal: A person with predatory instincts who has not sufficient capital to form a corporation.” Howard Scott (1926 – )
Mignon McLaughlin on Society
“Society honors its living conformists and its dead troublemakers.” Mignon McLaughlin
Lord Acton on Business
“I’m not a driven businessman, but a driven artist. I never think about money. Beautiful things make money.” Lord Acton
Wayne Gretzky on Hockey
“A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” Wayne Gretzky
De La Lastra’s Law
“After the last of 16 mounting screws has been removed from an access cover, it will be discovered that the wrong access cover has been removed.” De La Lastra’s Law
Alice Roosevelt Longworth on Youth
“The secret of eternal youth is arrested development.” Alice Roosevelt Longworth US author & wit (1884 – 1980)
Evan Esar on Anger
“Anger is the feeling that makes your mouth work faster than your mind.” Evan Esar American Humorist (1899 – 1995)
Henry Fielding on Criticism
“Now, in reality, the world have paid too great a compliment to critics, and have imagined them to be men of much greater profundity than they really are.” Henry Fielding English dramatist & novelist (1707 – 1754)
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle on Science
“I never guess. It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Sign of Four, A Scandal in Bohemia British mystery author & physician (1859 – 1930)
Oscar Wilde on Forgiveness
“Always forgive your enemies – nothing annoys them so much.” Oscar Wilde
Henry David Thoreau on Flying
“Thank God men cannot as yet fly and lay waste the sky as well as the earth!” Henry David Thoreau US Transcendentalist author (1817 – 1862)
Woodrow Wilson on Equality
“There can be no equality or opportunity if men and women and children be not shielded in their lives from the consequences of great industrial and social processes which they cannot alter, control, or singly cope with.” Woodrow Wilson
Samuel Johnson on Writing
“Your manuscript is both good and original, but the part that is good is not original and the part that is original is not good.” Samuel Johnson, (attributed) English author, critic, & lexicographer (1709 – 1784)
Thomas Pickering on Archaeology vs. Diplomacy
“In archaeology you uncover the unknown. In diplomacy you cover the known.” Thomas Pickering US diplomat (1931 – )
Sir Arthur Eddington on the Universe
“Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.” Sir Arthur Eddington English astronomer (1882 – 1944)
Dale Carnegie on Success
“Flaming enthusiasm, backed by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes success.” Dale Carnegie
John Wilmot on Children
“Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children and no theories.” John Wilmot
Benjamin Franklin on Freedom and Security
“He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither.” Benjamin Franklin
Zig Ziglar on Friendship
“If you go looking for a friend, you’re going to find they’re very scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them everywhere.” Zig Ziglar
Robert W. Sarnoff on Finance
“Finance is the art of passing money from hand to hand until it finally disappears.” Robert W. Sarnoff
Orson Welles on Art and Time
“I passionately hate the idea of being with it, I think an artist has always to be out of step with his time.” Orson Welles US actor & director (1915 – 1985)
Samuel Johnson on Work
“Men are generally idle, and ready to satisfy themselves, and intimidate the industry of others, by calling that impossible which is only difficult.” Samuel Johnson, Life of Boerhaave English author, critic, & lexicographer (1709 – 1784)
Francis Bacon on Death
“Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased by tales, so is the other.” Francis Bacon
Albert Guinon on Truth
“When everyone is against you, it means that you are absolutely wrong – or absolutely right.” Albert Guinon (1863 – 1923)
