The Bible on Anger
“The start of an argument is like a water leak – so stop it before real trouble breaks out.” The Bible, Proverbs 17:14
Alan Turing on Technology
“Machines take me by surprise with great frequency.” Alan Turing English logician & mathematician (1912 – 1954)
Carl Sagan on Science
“I maintain there is much more wonder in science than in pseudoscience. And in addition, to whatever measure this term has any meaning, science has the additional virtue, and it is not an inconsiderable one, of being true.” Carl Sagan US astronomer & popularizer of astronomy (1934 – 1996)
Virgil Thomson on Music
“The way to write American music is simple. All you have to do is be an American and then write any kind of music you wish.” Virgil Thomson US composer, conductor, & music critic (1896 – 1989)
Yoda Wisdom Quote
“Do or do not… there is no try.” Jedi Master Yoda – Star Wars (created by George Lucas)
A. H. Weiler on Power
“Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn’t have to do it himself.” A. H. Weiler (1909 – 2002)
Ronald Reagan Cynical Quote
“The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would hire them away.” Ronald Reagan 40th president of US (1911 – 2004)
Louis Pasteur on Education
“Fortune favors the prepared mind.” Louis Pasteur
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg on Intelligence
“Everyone is a genius at least once a year. The real geniuses simply have their bright ideas closer together.” Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742 – 1799)
John F. Kennedy on History
“History is a relentless master. It has no present, only the past rushing into the future. To try to hold fast is to be swept aside.” John F. Kennedy
Gilbert K. Chesterton on Adventure
“An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered.” Gilbert K. Chesterton English author & mystery novelist (1874 – 1936)
Thomas A. Edison on Opportunity
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Thomas A. Edison US inventor (1847 – 1931)
Walter Winchell on Friendship
“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” Walter Winchell
W. Somerset Maugham Cynical Quote
“I always find it more difficult to say the things I mean than the things I don’t.” W. Somerset Maugham, The Painted Veil, 1925 English dramatist & novelist (1874 – 1965)
Michael E. Gerber on Life
“The difference between great people and everyone else is that great people create their lives actively, while everyone else is created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life takes them next. The difference between the two is the difference between living fully and just existing.” Michael E. Gerber
Don Marquis on Work
“When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him: ‘Whose?'” Don Marquis US humorist (1878 – 1937)
Mark Twain Wisdom Quote
“Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” Mark Twain US humorist, novelist, short story author, & wit (1835 – 1910)
Clive James on Technology
“It is only when they go wrong that machines remind you how powerful they are.” Clive James
David Broder on Politics
“Anybody who wants the presidency so much that he’ll spend two years organizing and campaigning for it is not to be trusted with the office.” David Broder
Thomas A. Edison
“To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.” Thomas A. Edison US inventor (1847 – 1931)
Francis Bacon on Certainties
“If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties.” Sir Francis Bacon English author, courtier, & philosopher (1561 – 1626)
Dave Barry on Argument
“I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don’t even invite me.” Dave Barry US columnist & humorist (1947 – )
Bill Watterson on Intelligent Life
“Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us.” Bill Watterson, cartoonist, Calvin and Hobbes US cartoonist (1958 – )
A. A. Milne on Disorder
“One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.” A. A. Milne English juvenile author (1882 – 1956)
H. L. Mencken on Money
“The chief value of money lies in the fact that one lives in a world in which it is overestimated.” H. L. Mencken US editor (1880 – 1956)
L. M. Boyd Cynical Quote
“There are 350 varieties of shark, not counting loan and pool.” L. M. Boyd
Stanislaw J. Lec on Patience
“You must first have a lot of patience to learn to have patience.” Stanislaw J. Lec, “Unkempt Thoughts” Polish writer (1909 – 1966)
Edward Abbey on Tyranny
“No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets.” Edward Abbey US radical environmentalist (1927 – 1989)
Saint Thomas Aquinas on Faith
“Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand.” Saint Thomas Aquinas
Jeff Marder Cynical Quote
“We live in an age when pizza gets to your home before the police.” Jeff Marder
Peter Ustinov on Money
“The only reason I made a commercial for American Express was to pay for my American Express bill.” Peter Ustinov English actor & author (1921 – 2004)
Ambrose Bierce on Absurdity
“Absurdity, n.: A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one’s own opinion.” Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary US author & satirist (1842 – 1914)
Maya Angelou on Change
“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.” Maya Angelou
Gertrude Stein on Information
“Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.” Gertrude Stein US author in France (1874 – 1946)
Marshall McLuhan’s Funny Quote
“I don’t necessarily agree with everything I say.” Marshall McLuhan Canadian author, educator, & philosopher (1911 – 1980)
Napoleon Bonaparte on Peace
“If they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon shots.” Napoleon Bonaparte
Frank Gifford on Sports
“Pro football is like nuclear warfare. There are no winners, only survivors.” Frank Gifford
Albert Einstein on Science
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Albert Einstein, (attributed) US (German-born) physicist (1879 – 1955)
Jerry Seinfeld on Society
“A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking.” Jerry Seinfeld US comedian & television actor (1954 – )
Jay Leno Cynical Quote
“Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime. Teach a man to create an artificial shortage of fish and he will eat steak.” Jay Leno US comedian & television host (1950 – )
J. Bartlett Brebner on Politics
“Americans are benevolently ignorant about Canada, while Canadians are malevolently well informed about the United States.” J. Bartlett Brebner
Otto von Bismarck Cynical Quote
“When a man says he approves of something in principle, it means he hasn’t the slightest intention of putting it into practice.” Otto von Bismarck German Prussian politician (1815 – 1898)
Oscar Wilde on Truth
“If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you.” Oscar Wilde Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 – 1900)
Maurice Chevalier on Age
“A comfortable old age is the reward of a well-spent youth. Instead of its bringing sad and melancholy prospects of decay, it would give us hopes of eternal youth in a better world.” Maurice Chevalier
Bertrand Russell on Happiness
“If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their own happiness more than they desired the unhappiness of others, we could have paradise in a few years.” Bertrand Russell British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 – 1970)
E. V. Lucas on Tardiness
“I have noticed that the people who are late are often so much jollier than the people who have to wait for them.” E. V. Lucas
Erma Bombeck on Success
“Don’t confuse fame with success. Madonna is one; Helen Keller is the other.” Erma Bombeck
Isaac Asimov on Computers
“Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest.” Isaac Asimov US science fiction novelist & scholar (1920 – 1992)
Lester J. Pourciau on Politics
“There is no monument dedicated to the memory of a committee.” Lester J. Pourciau
Philip Johnson on Architecture
“Architecture is the art of how to waste space.” Philip Johnson US architect (1906 – 2005)
