Against quotes
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Dietrich_Bonhoeffer
Stupidity
“Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease. Against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed — in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical — and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self-satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack. For that reason, greater caution is called for when dealing with a stupid person than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous.”
- Source: From the paper “An Account at the Turn of the Year 1942-1943” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, contained within the book “Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Volume 8: Letters and Papers from Prison” edited by John W. Gruchy, et al. Published in 2009 by Fortress Press.
- Keywords: Stupid_quotes Danger_quotes Malice_quotes Enemy_quotes Good_quotes Protest_quotes Evil_quotes Expose_quotes Prevent_quotes Force_quotes Carry_quotes Germ_quotes Subversion_quotes Human_quotes Being_quotes Sense_quotes Unease_quotes Against_quotes Defenseless_quotes Accomplish_quotes Reason_quotes Fall_quotes Deaf_quotes Ear_quotes Fact_quotes Contradict_quotes Prejudgment_quotes Simple_quotes Believe_quotes Moment_quotes Person_quotes Critical_quotes Irrefutable_quotes Push_quotes Inconsequential_quotes Incidental_quotes Contrast_quotes Utterly_quotes Self_quotes Satisfy_quotes Easy_quotes Irritate_quotes Attack_quotes Caution_quotes Deal_quotes Persuade_quotes Senseless_quotes
Edward_Bulwer-Lytton
The Few and the Many
"In science, address the few; in literature, the many. In science, the few must dictate opinion to the many; in literature, the many, sooner or later, force their judgment on the few. But the few and the many are not necessarily the few and the many of the passing time: for discoverers in science have not un-often, in their own day, had the few against them; and writers the most permanently popular not unfrequently found, in their own day, a frigid reception from the many. By the few, I mean those who must ever remain the few, from whose dieta we, the multitude, take fame upon trust; by the many, I mean those who constitute the multitude in the long-run. We take the fame of a Harvey or a Newton upon trust, from the verdict of the few in successive generations; but the few could never persuade us to take poets and novelists on trust. We, the many, judge for ourselves of Shakespeare and Cervantes."
- Source: Earl Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, Caxtoniana: A Series of Essays on Life, Literature, and Manners (1863), Vol. 2, 329- 30.
- Keywords: Science_quotes Minority_quotes Majority_quotes Literature_quotes Opinion_quotes Judgment_quotes Time_quotes Influence_quotes Persuasion_quotes Popularity_quotes Fame_quotes Trust_quotes Few_quotes Dictate_quotes Force_quotes Discovery_quotes Against_quotes Opposition_quotes Writer_quotes Frigid_quotes Verdict_quotes Generation_quotes Poet_quotes Novelist_quotes
Douglas_Hofstadter
Artificial Intelligence Art Problems
“Artificial Intelligence, when it reaches the level of human intelligence — or even if it surpasses it — will still be plagued by the problems of art, beauty, and simplicity, and will run up against these things constantly in its own search for knowledge and understanding.”
- Source: Hofstadter, Douglas R. (1979). Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid. Written by Douglas R. Hofstadter. Basic Books, New York, NY. ISBN 13: 978-046502656-2. ISBN 10: 046502656-7. Chapter 20. Page 695.
- Keywords: Artificial_quotes Intelligence_quotes Reach_quotes Level_quotes Human_quotes Surpass_quotes Plague_quotes Problem_quotes Art_quotes Beauty_quotes Simplicity_quotes Run_quotes Up_quotes Against_quotes Constant_quotes Search_quotes Knowledge_quotes Understanding_quotes Artificial_Intelligence_quotes
Carl_Jung
Sad Truth
“The sad truth is that man's real life consists of a complex of inexorable opposites — day and night, birth and death, happiness and misery, good and evil. We are not even sure that one will prevail against the other, that good will overcome evil, or joy defeat pain. Life is a battleground. It always has been, and always will be; and if it were not so, existence would come to an end.”
- Source: Written by Carl G. Jung in Part 1 'Approaching the Unconscious' of the book 'Man and His Symbols' edited by Carl Jung and M.-L. von Franz. Published 1964 by J. G. Ferguson Publishing. ISBN 0-385-05221-9. Page 85.
- See Also:
- Keywords: Sad_quotes Truth_quotes Man_quotes Humanity_quotes Real_quotes Life_quotes Complex_quotes Inexorable_quotes Opposite_quotes Day_quotes Night_quotes Birth_quotes Death_quotes Happiness_quotes Misery_quotes Good_quotes Evil_quotes Sure_quotes Prevail_quotes Against_quotes Overcome_quotes Joy_quotes Defeat_quotes Pain_quotes Battleground_quotes Always_quotes Be_quotes Existence_quotes Come_quotes End_quotes
Thomas_Robert_Malthus
Population and Subsistence
“I think I may fairly make two postulata. First, That food is necessary to the existence of man. Secondly, That the passion between the sexes is necessary, and will remain nearly in its present state... Assuming then my postulata as granted, I say, that the power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man. Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio. Subsistence increases only in an arithmetical ratio... This implies a strong and constantly operating check on population from the difficulty of subsistence. This difficulty must fall somewhere; and must necessarily be severely felt by a large portion of mankind... The germs of existence contained in this spot of earth, with ample food, and ample room to expand in, would fill millions of worlds in the course of a few thousand years... Consequently, if the premises are just, the argument is conclusive against the perfectibility of the mass of mankind.”
- Source: Thomas Robert Malthus. The essay: “An Essay on the Principle of Population as It Affects the Future Improvement of Society, with Remarks on the Speculations of Mr. Goodwin, M. Condorcet and Other Writers”. Originally published: 1798. Edition: First. Publisher: J. Johnson. Location: London, England. Chapter: 1. Retrieved From: <https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/An_Essay_on_the_Principle_of_Population>. Retrieval Date: 2024-04-03.
- Notes: The dire predictions of Malthus have not yet been fulfilled. This is primarily due to errors in his initial assumptions (which are properly identified), not in errors in his logic. The first assumption (or postulatum) is that food production increases arithmetically (linearly). But historically, food production has increased geometrically (exponentially) due to advances in mechanical technologies and biotechnologies. The second assumption assumes passion and birth rates are directly correlated. However, technological advances in birth control, cultural advances in women's rights, and rising prosperity (which lowers birth rates) have falsified this assumption. Additional questionable assumptions are also made which are not initially specified.
- See Also:
- Keywords: Think_quotes Fair_quotes Assumption_quotes Postulate_quotes Food_quotes Existence_quotes Passion_quotes Sex_quotes Man_quotes Woman_quotes Remain_quotes Grant_quotes Power_quotes Population_quotes Indefinite_quotes Greater_quotes Earth_quotes World_quotes Production_quotes Subsistence_quotes Uncheck_quotes Increase_quotes Geometric_quotes Exponential_quotes Ratio_quotes Arithmetic_quotes Linear_quotes Imply_quotes Strong_quotes Constant_quotes Operate_quotes Check_quotes Difficult_quotes Fall_quotes Necessary_quotes Severe_quotes Feel_quotes Large_quotes Portion_quotes Mankind_quotes Humanity_quotes Germ_quotes Contain_quotes Spot_quotes Ample_quotes Room_quotes Expand_quotes Fill_quotes Course_quotes Few_quotes Thousand_quotes Year_quotes Premises_quotes Argument_quotes Consequence_quotes Conclusive_quotes Against_quotes Perfectibility_quotes Mass_quotes Hunger_quotes Starvation_quotes Malthusian_quotes
Robert_A_J_Matthews
Universe Against You
“Indeed, there is evidence that the universe is against you.”
- Source: From the article "The Science of Murphy’s Law" written by Robert A. J. Matthews, published in 'Scientific America, volume 276 number 4, April 1997, DOI: 10.1038/scientificamerican0497-88.
- Keywords: Evidence_quotes Universe_quotes Against_quotes
Alan_Perlis
Programming Education
“It goes against the grain of modern education to teach children to program. What fun is there in making plans, acquiring discipline in organizing thoughts, devoting attention to detail and learning to be self-critical?”
- Source: Perlis, A. J. (1982). Special Feature: Epigrams on programming. ACM SIGPLAN Notices, 17(9), 7–13. http://doi.org/10.1145/947955.1083808
Ludwig_Wittgenstein
Philosophy Bewitchment
“Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language.”
- Source: Ludwig Wittgenstein in “Philisophical Investigations”, published posthumously in 1958 by Macmillan Publishing Company. New York, NY. Part I, paragraph 109. Originally published in German posthumously in 1953.
- Keywords: Philosophy_quotes Battle_quotes Against_quotes Bewitchment_quotes Intelligence_quotes Means_quotes Language_quotes
