Possible quotes

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Aesop

Mouse and Lion

“It is possible for even a mouse to confer benefits on a lion.”
Keywords: Possible_quotes Mouse_quotes Lion_quotes Confer_quotes Benefit_quotes

Isaac_Asimov

Science and Mathematics

“It is quite possible that mathematics was invented in the ancient Middle East to keep track of tax receipts and grain stores. How odd that out of this should come a subtle scientific language that can effectively describe and predict the most arcane aspects of the Universe.”
  • Source: Isaac Asimov, chapter epigraph in Isaac Asimov’s Book of Science and Nature Quotations, edited by Isaac Asimov and Jason A. Shulman, published in 1988 by Weidenfeld and Nicolson, New York. Chapter 68, page 265. ISBN 1-555-84111-2.
Keywords: Possible_quotes Mathematics_quotes Invention_quotes Ancient_quotes MiddleEast_quotes Keep_quotes Track_quotes Tax_quotes Receipt_quotes Grain_quotes Store_quotes Odd_quotes Come_quotes Subtle_quotes Scientific_quotes Language_quotes Effective_quotes Describe_quotes Predict_quotes Arcane_quotes Aspect_quotes Universe_quotes

F_Terry_Baker

Code Library

“The most important of these is a development support library which encourages the visibility and manageability of the product, as well as reduces clerical effort on the part of the programmers. The library is typically maintained and operated by a programming librarian who serves to control the programming assets and to provide the necessary services for both programmers and management. As a result of its use, the entire project is maintained in a centralized, up-to-date, visible form which makes its status immediately apparent to code-competent software managers and makes it possible for programmers to answer their questions directly without relying on others.”
  • Source: Baker, F. T. (1975). Software Management Through Improved Programming Technology. ACM ’75: Proceedings of the 1975 Annual Conference, 286–287. https://doi.org/10.1145/800181.810346
Keywords: Programming_quotes Productivity_quotes Library_quotes Source_Code_quotes Important_quotes Development_quotes Support_quotes Encourage_quotes Visible_quotes Management_quotes Product_quotes Reduce_quotes Clerical_quotes Effort_quotes Part_quotes Programmer_quotes Typical_quotes Maintain_quotes Operate_quotes Librarian_quotes Serve_quotes Control_quotes Asset_quotes Provide_quotes Service_quotes Necessary_quotes Result_quotes Use_quotes Entire_quotes Project_quotes Centralize_quotes Up_to_date_quotes Form_quotes Make_quotes Status_quotes Immediate_quotes Apparent_quotes Code_quotes Competent_quotes Software_quotes Manager_quotes Possible_quotes Answer_quotes Question_quotes Direct_quotes Rely_quotes

Arthur_Bloch

Murphy's Law Corollary 4

"If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which a procedure can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way will promptly develop."
  • Source: Attributed to Edward A Murphy, reported in the book “Murphy's Law and Other Reasons Why Things Go Wrong” written by Arthur Bloch, first edition published in 1977 by Price/Stern/Sloan, Los Angeles, California. ISBN-10: 0843104287. ISBN-13: 978-0843104288. Chapter Murphology, page 11.
Keywords: Percieve_quotes Four_quotes Possible_quotes Way_quotes Procedure_quotes Wrong_quotes Circumvent_quotes Prompt_quotes Develop_quotes Law_quotes Murphy(topic)_quotes

Sodd's Second Law

“Sooner or later, the worst possible set of circumstances is bound to occur.
Corollary: Any system must be designed to withstand the worst possible set of circumstances.”
  • Source: Attributed to an unidentified person called Sodd, reported in the book "Murphy's Law and Other Reasons Why Things Go Wrong" written by Arthur Bloch, first edition publish in 1977 by Price/Stern/Sloan, Los Angeles, California. ISBN-10: 0843104287. ISBN-13: 978-0843104288. Chapter Murphology, page 17.
  • Notes: Who Sodd was has not been reliably identified.
Keywords: Murphy(topic)_quotes Law_quotes Worse_quotes Possible_quotes Circumstance_quotes Occur_quotes System_quotes Design_quotes Withstand_quotes

Dietrich_Bonhoeffer

Stupidity Liberation

“Yet at this very point it becomes quite clear that only an act of liberation, not instruction, can overcome stupidity. Here we must come to terms with the fact that in most cases a genuine internal liberation becomes possible only when external liberation has preceded it. Until then we must abandon all attempts to convince the stupid person. This state of affairs explains why in such circumstances our attempts to know what ‘the  people’ really think are in vain and why, under these circumstances, this question is so irrelevant for the person who is thinking and acting responsibly.”
  • 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 Point_quotes Become_quotes Clear_quotes Act_quotes Liberation_quotes Instruction_quotes Overcome_quotes Term_quotes Fact_quotes Most_quotes Case_quotes Genuine_quotes Internal_quotes Possible_quotes External_quotes Precede_quotes Abandon_quotes Attempt_quotes Convince_quotes Person_quotes State_quotes Affair_quotes Explain_quotes Circumstance_quotes People_quotes Think_quotes Vain_quotes Question_quotes Irrelevant_quotes Responsible_quotes

Richard_Clarke_Cabot

Real Life

"'Real Life,' then, if it is to mean the nourishing, sustaining, and development of existence, demands work, play, love, and so much of the material and spiritual conditions as make these possible."
Keywords: Life_quotes Existence_quotes Work_quotes Play_quotes Love_quotes Real_quotes Meaning_quotes Nourish_quotes Sustain_quotes Development_quotes Demand_quotes Material_quotes Spiritual_quotes Condition_quotes Possible_quotes

Arthur_C_Clarke

Clarke's First Law

“When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.”
  • Source: Arthur C. Clarke in his book ‘Profiles of the Future: An Inquiry Into the Limits of the Possible’, published 1962 by HMH Publishing, Revised edition, within chapter 2 ‘Hazards of Prophecy: The Failure of Imagination’.
Keywords: Distinguish_quotes Elderly_quotes Scientist_quotes Possible_quotes Certainty_quotes Right_quotes State_quotes Impossible_quotes Probable_quotes Wrong_quotes Law_quotes

Clarke's Second Law

“The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.”
  • Source: Arthur C. Clarke in his book ‘Profiles of the Future: An Inquiry Into the Limits of the Possible’, published 1962 by HMH Publishing, Revised edition, within chapter 2 ‘Hazards of Prophecy: The Failure of Imagination’.
Keywords: Way_quotes Discover_quotes Limit_quotes Possible_quotes Venture_quotes Little_quotes Past_quotes Impossible_quotes Law_quotes

Mihaly_Csikszentmihalyi

Faith

“It is also possible to lose oneself in systems of action that demand nothing but faith and allegiance. Fundamentalist religions, mass movements, and extremist political parties also offer opportunities for self-transcendence that millions are eager to accept. They also provide a welcome extension of the boundaries of the self, a feeling that one is involved in something great and powerful.”
  • Source: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in the book “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience“, chapter “The Elements of Enjoyment”, page 65. Original content published by Harper Perennial Modern Classics in 1990. Kindle edition published by Harper Collins in 2008. ISBN: 978-0061876721.
Keywords: Possible_quotes Lose_quotes Self_quotes System_quotes Action_quotes Demand_quotes Faith_quotes Allegiance_quotes Fundamentalist_quotes Religion_quotes Mass_quotes Movement_quotes Extremist_quotes Political_quotes Party_quotes Offer_quotes Transcendence_quotes Million_quotes Eager_quotes Accept_quotes Provide_quotes Welcome_quotes Extension_quotes Boundaries_quotes Feel_quotes Involve_quotes Great_quotes Powerful_quotes

Richard_Feynman

No One Understands Quantum

“I think it is safe to say that no one understands quantum mechanics. Do not keep saying to yourself, if you can possibly avoid it, 'But how can it possibly be like that?' because you will go down the drain into a blind alley from which nobody has yet escaped. Nobody knows how it can be like that.”
  • Source: Richard Feynman, in The Character of Physical Law (1965).
Keywords: Safe_quotes Understanding_quotes Quantum_quotes Comprehension_quotes Drain_quotes Blind_quotes Alley_quotes Escape_quotes Knowledge_quotes Think_quotes Say_quotes Possible_quotes Mechanics_quotes Down_quotes

Stephen_Hawking

Fine Tuning

“The laws of science, as we know them at present, contain many fundamental numbers, like the size of the electric charge of the electron and the ratio of the masses of the proton and the electron.... The remarkable fact is that the values of these numbers seem to have been finely adjusted to make possible the development of life.”
  • Source: Stephen Hawking in his book “A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes”. Published by Bantam in 1990. ISBN: 9780553346145.
Keywords: Law_quotes Science_quotes Know_quotes Present_quotes Contain_quotes Fundamental_quotes Number_quotes Size_quotes Electric_quotes Charge_quotes Electron_quotes Ratio_quotes Mass_quotes Proton_quotes Remarkable_quotes Fact_quotes Value_quotes Fine_quotes Adjust_quotes Tune_quotes Possible_quotes Make_quotes Development_quotes Life_quotes Universe_quotes

Robert_Heinlein

Delusions

“How can I possibly put a new idea into your heads, if I do not first remove your delusions?”.

  • Source: Written by Robert A. Heinlein in the short story “Life-Line” originally published in the 1939-08 edition of “Astounding Science Fiction” magazine, page 83. Character: Dr. Pinero. Retrieved 2024-05-05 from https://www.luminist.org/archives/SF/AST.htm.
Keywords: Possible_quotes New_quotes Idea_quotes Head_quotes Remove_quotes Delusion_quotes Learn_quotes

Joseph_Heller

Educate People

“It was neither possible nor necessary to educate people who never questioned anything.”
  • Source: Heller, Joseph. 'Catch-22: 50th Anniversary Edition'. Chapter 4 'Doc Daneeka', page 36. Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition.
Keywords: Possible_quotes Necessary_quotes Educate_quotes People_quotes Question_quotes

Immanuel_Kant

Character

“If it were possible for us to have so deep an insight into a man's character as shown both in inner and in outer actions, that every, even the least, incentive to these actions and all external occasions which affect them were so known to us that his future conduct could be predicted with as great a certainty as the occurrence of a solar or lunar eclipse, we could nevertheless still assert that the man is free.”
  • Source: Immanuel Kant, Critique of Practical Reason (1788). In L. W. Beck (ed. & trans.), Critique of Practical Reason and Other Writings in Moral Philosophy (1949), 204-5.
Keywords: Insight_quotes Character_quotes Action_quotes Incentive_quotes Prediction_quotes Future_quotes Certainty_quotes Eclipse_quotes Humanity_quotes Freedom_quotes Sun_quotes Moon_quotes Possible_quotes Man_quotes Inner_quotes Outer_quotes External_quotes Occasion_quotes Knowledge_quotes Conduct_quotes Occurence_quotes Solar_quotes Lunar_quotes Assert_quotes Free_quotes

David_Kipping

Nature Computation

“It is important to distinguish between testing whether the universe is built upon the principles of computation but is not a simulation versus testing where the universe is indeed a simulation on someone's computer. Those are different to each other. It is quite possible that the laws of computation are somehow embedded within nature and yet everything we see around us is not a simulation.”
  • Source: David Kipping from the YouTube “Why You're Probably Not a Simulation”, posted 2020-09-04 in the channel ‘Cool Worlds’. Video offset 11:15. Online at https://youtu.be/HA5YuwvJkpQ (2025).
Keywords: Important_quotes Distinguish_quotes Between_quotes Testing_quotes Universe_quotes Build_quotes Principle_quotes Computation_quotes Simulation_quotes Computer_quotes Different_quotes Each_quotes Other_quotes Possible_quotes Law_quotes Embed_quotes Nature_quotes Everything_quotes See_quotes Around_quotes

David_E_Nye

Farm Production Too Much

“The fundamental problem was that farmers produced too much, driving down prices. New technologies, such as tractors, trucks, harvesting equipment, and electrical machinery, made it possible for each farmer to raise more.”
  • Source: A book. Written by David E. Nye. Entitled 'Narratives and Spaces'. Published in 1997 by Univerity of Exeter Press, Exeter, UK. Hardback ISBN 0-85989-555-6. Paperback ISBN 0-85989-556-4. Chapter 3, page 45.
Keywords: Problem_quotes Fundamental_quotes Farmer_quotes Production_quotes Drive_quotes Price_quotes Technology_quotes Tractor_quotes Truck_quotes Harvest_quotes Equipment_quotes Electricity_quotes Machinery_quotes Possible_quotes Raise_quotes Grow_quotes Increase_quotes More_quotes

Karl_Popper

Theory Personality

“Understanding a theory has, indeed, much in common with understanding a human personality. We may know or understand a man's system of dispositions pretty well; that is to say, we may be able to predict how he would act in a number of different situations. But since there are infinitely many possible situations, of infinite variety, a full understanding of a man's dispositions does not seem to be possible.”
  • Source: Karl Raimund Popper, Objective Knowledge: an Evolutionary Approach (1972), 299.
Keywords: Understanding_quotes Theory_quotes Common_quotes Humanity_quotes Personality_quotes Knowledge_quotes System_quotes Disposition_quotes Prediction_quotes Differences_quotes Situation_quotes Infinity_quotes Possibility_quotes Variety_quotes Full_quotes Possible_quotes

Bertrand_Russell

Coherent Bodies

“There is no reason to suppose that only one coherent body of beliefs is possible.”
  • Source: Bertrand Russell, (1912), In the book entitled “The Problems of Philosophy” by Bertrand Russell. Second edition published in 1998 (originally published in 1912) by Oxford University Press, Oxford, England. Chapter 12. ISBN 978-0-19-285423-0. Online at <https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5827> retrieved 2022.
Keywords: Reason_quotes Suppose_quotes Coherence_quotes Body_quotes Belief_quotes Possible_quotes Truth_quotes

Rupert_Sheldrake

Multiverse

“This multiverse theory is the ultimate violation of Occam’s Razor, the philosophical principle that ‘entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity,' or in other words, that we should make as few assumptions as possible. It also has the major disadvantage of being untestable. And it does not even succeed in getting rid of God. An infinite God could be the God of an infinite number of universes.”
  • Source: Rupert Sheldrake. The book “Science Set Free: 10 Paths to New Discovery”, Introduction, page 12. Published in 2012 by Crown Publishing, New York, NY. Kindle Edition. ISBN: 978-0-7704-3671-1.
Keywords: Multiverse_quotes Theory_quotes Ultimate_quotes Occam(topic)_quotes OccamsRazor_quotes Philosophy_quotes Principle_quotes Entity_quotes Multiply_quotes Beyond_quotes Necessity_quotes Assumption_quotes Possible_quotes Major_quotes Disadvantage_quotes Testing_quotes Success_quotes Rid_quotes God_quotes Infinite_quotes Number_quotes Universe_quotes

Empirical Approach

“Science needs to be liberated from these constrictive dogmas of mechanistic materialism... If we go beyond those dogmas, science gets much more interesting. All sorts of new research become possible. New questions can be asked. We can find out more about nature and more about consciousness by doing science in a new more open way. But what remains part of science so crucial to it is the empirical approach. The putting forward of hypotheses, the critical discussion, and the testing of hypotheses by experiment, the scientific method.”
  • Source: Rupert Sheldrake. The video “Nature's Hidden Intelligence: Morphic Fields”. Online at https://youtu.be/qrIlWrGe4w4?t=4894. Posted 2025-01-03. Video offset 1:21:34.
Keywords: Need_quotes Liberate_quotes Constrict_quotes Dogma_quotes Mechanistic_quotes Materialism_quotes Interesting_quotes New_quotes Research_quotes Possible_quotes Question_quotes Ask_quotes Find_quotes Nature_quotes Consciousness_quotes Do_quotes Open_quotes Way_quotes Remain_quotes Part_quotes Science_quotes Crucial_quotes Empirical_quotes Approach_quotes Hypothesis_quotes Critical_quotes Discussion_quotes Test_quotes Experiment_quotes Scientific_Method_quotes Method_quotes

Frederick_Winslow_Taylor

Maximum Prosperity

“It would seem to be so self-evident that maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with maximum prosperity for the employee, ought to be the two leading objects of management, that even to state this fact should be unnecessary. And yet there is no question that, throughout the industrial world, a large part of the organization of employers, as well as employees, is for war rather than for peace, and that perhaps the majority on either side do not believe that it is possible so to arrange their mutual relations that their interests become identical.”
  • Source: F.W. Taylor, 1911. Principles of Scientific Management. New York and London, Harper & brothers. Chapter 1.
Keywords: Employment_quotes Scientific_Management_quotes Prosperity_quotes Management_quotes Conflict_quotes War_quotes Cooperation_quotes Maximum_quotes Optimal_quotes Science_quotes Self-evident_quotes Evident_quotes Employer_quotes Couple_quotes Employee_quotes Leading_quotes Object_quotes State_quotes Fact_quotes Unnecessary_quotes Question_quotes Industrial_quotes World_quotes Part_quotes Organization_quotes Peace_quotes Majority_quotes Side_quotes Believe_quotes Possible_quotes Arrange_quotes Mutual_quotes Relation_quotes Interest_quotes Identical_quotes

Stephen_Wolfram

Computational Irreducibility

“I’ve increasingly come to view the whole fundamental story of science as being about the interplay between computational irreducibility and computational reducibility. The computational nature of things inevitably leads to computational irreducibility. But there are slices of computational reducibility that inevitably exist on top of this irreducibility that are what make it possible for us — as computationally bounded entities — to identify meaningful scientific laws and to do science.”
Keywords: View_quotes Whole_quotes Fundamental_quotes Story_quotes Science_quotes Interplay_quotes Between_quotes Computation_quotes Irredicible_quotes Reducible_quotes Nature_quotes Inevitable_quotes Lead_quotes Slice_quotes Exist_quotes Top_quotes Make_quotes Possible_quotes Bound_quotes Entity_quotes Identify_quotes Meaning_quotes Law_quotes Do_quotes

Quantum Computing

“The basic idea of quantum computing... is to do different computations in parallel along different possible threads of history. But the key issue is then how to corral those threads of history together to figure out a definite answer for the computation... The preliminary indication is that at least at a formal level, quantum computers aren’t going to come out ahead.”
Keywords: Quantum_quotes Computing_quotes Computation_quotes Different_quotes Parallel_quotes Possible_quotes Thread_quotes History_quotes Key_quotes Issue_quotes Corral_quotes Together_quotes Figure_quotes Definite_quotes Answer_quotes Preliminary_quotes Indication_quotes Least_quotes Formal_quotes Level_quotes Ahead_quotes Computer_quotes
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