Self quotes

From Motley Bytes Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search

Christopher_Wolfgang_Alexander

Biased Decisions and Perceptions

“The self-conscious individual's grasp of problems is constantly misled. His concepts and categories, besides being arbitrary and unsuitable, are self-perpetuating. Under the influence of concepts, he not only does things from a biased point of view, but sees them biasedly as well. The concepts control his perception of fit and misfit — until in the end he sees nothing but deviations from his conceptual dogmas, and loses not only the urge but even the mental opportunity to frame his problems more appropriately.”
Keywords: Problem_quotes Bias_quotes Perception_quotes Incongruity_quotes Dogma_quotes Self_quotes Consciousness_quotes Individual_quotes Grasp_quotes Constant_quotes Misled_quotes Category_quotes Arbitrary_quotes Unsuitable_quotes Perpetuate_quotes Influence_quotes Concept_quotes Point_quotes View_quotes Control_quotes Fit_quotes Misfit_quotes End_quotes See_quotes Deviation_quotes Conceptual_quotes Lose_quotes Urge_quotes Mental_quotes Opportunity_quotes Frame_quotes Appropriate_quotes

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

Robert_Boyle

Good Hypothesis

“The Requisites of a good Hypothesis are:
: That It be Intelligible.
: That It neither Assume nor Suppose anything Impossible, unintelligible, or demonstrably False.
: That It be consistent with Itself.
: That It be lit and sufficient to Explicate the Phaenomena, especially the chief.
: That It be, at least, consistent, with the rest of the Phaenomena It particularly relates to, and do not contradict any other known Phaenomena of nature, or manifest Physical Truth.
 
The Qualities and Conditions of an Excellent Hypothesis are:
: That It be not Precarious, but have sufficient Grounds In the nature of the Thing Itself or at least be well recommended by some Auxiliary Proofs.
: That It be the Simplest of all the good ones we are able to frame, at least containing nothing that is superfluous or Impertinent.
: That It be the only Hypothesis that can Explicate the Phaenomena; or at least, that do's Explicate them so well.
: That it enable a skillful naturalist to foretell future Phaenomena by the Congruity or Incongruity to it; and especially the event of such experiments as are aptly devised to examine It, as Things that ought, or ought not, to be consequent to It.”
  • Source: Robert Boyle, Boyle Papers, 37. Quoted In Barbara Kaplan (ed.), Divulging of Useful Truths in Physick: The Medical Agenda of Robert Boyle (1993), 50.
Keywords: Hypothesis_quotes Communication_quotes Obfuscation_quotes Impossibility_quotes Falsification_quotes Consistency_quotes Explanation_quotes Nature_quotes Truth_quotes Contradiction_quotes Proof_quotes Simplicity_quotes Alternative_quotes Congruity_quotes Incongruity_quotes Experiment_quotes Prediction_quotes Induction_quotes Scientific_Method_quotes Good_quotes Requisite_quotes Intelligent_quotes Assumption_quotes Suppose_quotes Unintelligent_quotes Demonstrate_quotes False_quotes Self_quotes Phenomenon_quotes Chief_quotes Physical_quotes Quality_quotes Condition_quotes Excellent_quotes Precarious_quotes Sufficient_quotes Ground_quotes Auxiliary_quotes Frame_quotes Superfluous_quotes Impertinent_quotes Enable_quotes Skill_quotes Foretell_quotes Future_quotes Event_quotes Devise_quotes Examine_quotes Consequence_quotes

Robert_N_Britcher

Programming and Engineering

“Some aspects of programming will remain forever beyond the grasp of classical engineering. Programming is too much like writing, too personal and private, too much under the spell of hyperbole, marketing, and self-aggrandizement.”
  • Source: Britcher, Robert N. (1999). The Limits of Software: People, Projects, and Perspectives. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley. ISBN 0-201-43323-0. Page 208.
Keywords: Programming_quotes Classical_quotes Engineering_quotes Software_Engineering_quotes Writing_quotes Privacy_quotes Hyperbole_quotes Marketing_quotes Aggrandizement_quotes Craft_quotes Aspect_quotes Remain_quotes Forever_quotes Beyond_quotes Grasp_quotes Understanding_quotes Personal_quotes Spell_quotes Self_quotes

Edward_Bulwer-Lytton

Self-Deception

"The easiest person to deceive is one’s own self."
  • Source: Edward Bulwer-Lytton, The Disowned (1828), Chapter xlii.
Keywords: Self-Deception_quotes Bias_quotes Easy_quotes Person_quotes Deceive_quotes Self_quotes

Octavia_E_Butler

We Say

“Beware: All too often, we say what we hear others say. We think what we’re told that we think. We see what we’re permitted to see. Worse! We see what we’re told that we see. Repetition and pride are the keys to this. To hear and to see even an obvious lie again and again and again may be to say it, almost by reflex then to defend it because we’ve said it and at last to embrace it because we’ve defended it and because we cannot admit that we’ve embraced and defended an obvious lie. Thus, without thought, without intent, we make mere echoes of ourselves — and we say what we hear others say.”
  • Source: Written by Octavia E. Butler in her book entitled “Parable of the Talents”. Chapter 18. First published by Seven Stories Press, New York, NY, in 1998. ISBN-13: 978-1-888363-81-4.
Keywords: Beware_quotes Often_quotes Say_quotes Hear_quotes Think_quotes Told_quotes See_quotes Permit_quotes Worse_quotes Repetition_quotes Pride_quotes Key_quotes Obvious_quotes Lie_quotes Reflex_quotes Defend_quotes Embrace_quotes Thought_quotes Intent_quotes Admit_quotes Mere_quotes Echo_quotes Self_quotes Make_quotes

Confucius

You Know

“When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it; this is knowledge.”

Keywords: Knowledge_quotes Self_quotes True_quotes Hold_quotes Allow_quotes

Mihaly_Csikszentmihalyi

True Believer

“The true believer is not really interacting with the belief system; he usually lets his psychic energy be absorbed by it. From this submission nothing new can come; consciousness may attain a welcome order, but it will be an order imposed rather than achieved. At best the self of the true believer resembles a crystal: strong and beautifully symmetrical, but very slow to grow.”
  • 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: True_quotes Believer_quotes Interact_quotes Belief_quotes System_quotes Usual_quotes Psychic_quotes Energy_quotes Absorb_quotes Submission_quotes Consciousness_quotes Attain_quotes Order_quotes Welcome_quotes Impose_quotes Achieve_quotes Self_quotes Resemble_quotes Crystal_quotes Strong_quotes Beautiful_quotes Symmetric_quotes Slow_quotes Grow_quotes

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

Flow

“In our studies, we found that every flow activity, whether it involved competition, chance, or any other dimension of experience, had this in common: It provided a sense of discovery, a creative feeling of transporting the person into a new reality. It pushed the person to higher levels of performance, and led to previously undreamed-of states of consciousness. In short, it transformed the self by making it more complex. In this growth of the self lies the key to flow activities.”
  • Source: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in the book “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience“, chapter “Flow Activities”, page 74. Original content published by Harper Perennial Modern Classics in 1990. Kindle edition published by Harper Collins in 2008. ISBN: 978-0061876721.
Keywords: Flow_quotes Activity_quotes Involve_quotes Competition_quotes Chance_quotes Dimension_quotes Experience_quotes Common_quotes Provide_quotes Sense_quotes Discovery_quotes Creative_quotes Feel_quotes Transport_quotes Person_quotes Reality_quotes Push_quotes Higher_quotes Level_quotes Performance_quotes Led_quotes Previous_quotes Undream_quotes Dream_quotes State_quotes Consciousness_quotes Transform_quotes Self_quotes Make_quotes Complex_quotes Growth_quotes Key_quotes

Writing

“It is never a waste to write for intrinsic reasons. First of all, writing gives the mind a disciplined means of expression. It allows one to record events and experiences so that they can be easily recalled, and relived in the future. It is a way to analyze and understand experiences, a self-communication that brings order to them.”
  • Source: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in the book “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience“, chapter “The Play of Words”, page 131. Original content published by Harper Perennial Modern Classics in 1990. Kindle edition published by Harper Collins in 2008. ISBN: 978-0061876721.
Keywords: Waste_quotes Writng_quotes Intrinsic_quotes Reason_quotes Mind_quotes Discipline_quotes Expression_quotes Allow_quotes Record_quotes Event_quotes Experience_quotes Recall_quotes Relive_quotes Future_quotes Analyze_quotes Understand_quotes Self_quotes Communication_quotes Bring_quotes Order_quotes

René_Descartes

I Think Therefore I Am

"I think, therefore I am."
  • Source: Descartes, R. (1649). “I think, therefore I am.” In A Discourse of a Method for the Well Guiding of Reason and the Discovery of Truth in the Sciences (p. part IIII, para. 1).
  • Notes: Latin: Cogito ergo sum.
Keywords: Thinking_quotes Existence_quotes Reality_quotes Self_quotes Certainty_quotes

Yuval_Noah_Harari

Self-Skepticism

“The trademark of science is not merely skepticism but self-skepticism, and at the heart of every scientific institution we find a strong self-correcting mechanism.”
  • Source: Yuval Noah Harari writing in his book ‘Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI’. Published in 2024 by Random House. Kindle edition. Chapter 4 page 104. ISBN 978-0593734247.
Keywords: Trademark_quotes Science_quotes Skepticism_quotes Self-Skepticism_quotes Self_quotes Heart_quotes Scientific_quotes Institution_quotes Find_quotes Strong_quotes Self-Correcting_quotes Correcting_quotes Mechanism_quotes

Douglas_Hofstadter

Strange Consciousness

“My belief is that the explanations of emergent phenomena in our brains — for instance, ideas, hopes, images, analogies, and finally consciousness and free will — are based on a kind of Strange Loop, an interaction between levels in which the top loop reaches back down towards the bottom level and influences it, while at the same time being itself determined by the bottom level. In other words, a self-reinforcing resonance between different levels.”
  • 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 709.
Keywords: Belief_quotes Explanation_quotes Emergent_quotes Phenomena_quotes Brain_quotes Idea_quotes Hope_quotes Image_quotes Analogy_quotes Consciousness_quotes Free_Will_quotes Strange_Loop_quotes Interaction_quotes Level_quotes Loop_quotes Top_quotes Bottom_quotes Influence_quotes Determine_quotes Reinforce_quotes Resonance_quotes Self_quotes Different_quotes

Contradiction Bundle

“We all are bundles of contradictions, and we manage to hang together by bringing out only one side of ourselves at a given time.”
  • 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 12. Page 383.
Keywords: Bundle_quotes Contradiction_quotes Hang_quotes Together_quotes Bring_quotes One_quotes Side_quotes Self_quotes Time_quotes

Sabine_Hossenfelder

Understanding

“To me, my personal story is evidence that not only I but many of us have the desire to understand the universe — for no other reason than understanding the universe. Our thirst for knowledge is ubiquitous, in both individuals and societies. We want to understand, partly because understanding is useful, but also, I think, out of a primary need to make sense of ourselves and our place in this world.”
  • Source: Hossenfelder, Sabine. Existential Physics: A Scientist's Guide to Life's Biggest Questions (p. 223). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Keywords: Personal_quotes Story_quotes Evidence_quotes Desire_quotes Understand_quotes Universe_quotes Thirst_quotes Knowledge_quotes Ubiquitous_quotes Individual_quotes Society_quotes Useful_quotes Primary_quotes Need_quotes Sense_quotes Self_quotes Place_quotes World_quotes

Carl_Jung

Monad Mandala

“The self, I thought, was like the monad which I am, and which is my world. The mandala represents this monad, and corresponds to the microcosmic nature of the soul... Only when I began to paint the mandalas did I see that all the paths I took, all the steps I made, all led back to the one point, that is, to the center. The mandala became the expression of all paths.”
  • Source: Written by Carl G. Jung in ‘Memories, Dreams, Reflections’; edited by Aniela Jaffe, translated by Clara Winston; First published in German in 1962, an English translation appeared in 1963. Also Published by Vintage in 1989. Page 221. ISBN 978-0679723950.
    • Also reported in ‘The Red Book: Liber Novus: A Reader's Edition’, written by C. G. Jung, edited with an introduction by Sonu Shamdasani, translated by Mark Kyburz, John Peck, and Sonu Shamdasani; published by W. W. Norton in 2012; ISBN 978-0393089080; Page 44-45.
Keywords: Self_quotes Thought_quotes Monad_quotes World_quotes Mandada_quotes Represent_quotes Correspond_quotes Microcosm_quotes Nature_quotes Soul_quotes Paint_quotes See_quotes Path_quotes Step_quotes Led_quotes Back_quotes Point_quotes One_quotes Center_quotes Expression_quotes All_quotes

David_Kipping

You Are Sentient

“Whether you're a piece of computer code or real. Simulacra or physical. Conscious entities are conscious all the same. You are self-aware. You are sentient.”
  • Source: David Kipping from the YouTube “Why You're Probably Not a Simulation”, posted 2020-09-04 in the channel ‘Cool Worlds’. Video offset 32:48. Online at https://youtu.be/HA5YuwvJkpQ (2025).
Keywords: Simulation_quotes Piece_quotes Code_quotes Real_quotes Simulacra_quotes Physical_quotes Consciousness_quotes Entity_quotes Same_quotes Self_quotes Aware_quotes Sentient_quotes

Laozi

Knowing

“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.”
  • Source: Laozi in “Tao Te Ching”, chapter 33, as interpreted by Stephen Mitchell (1992).
Keywords: Knowing_quotes Other_quotes Intelligence_quotes Self_quotes True_quotes Wisdom_quotes

Malcolm_McIlroy

Automate Programmers

“It would be immoral for programmers to automate everybody but themselves.”
Keywords: Immoral_quotes Morality_quotes Programmer_quotes Automation_quotes Self_quotes Ethics_quotes

William_Shakespeare

Above All

“This above all: to thine own self be true,
 And it must follow, as the night the day,
 Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
  • Source: From the play “Hamlet” written by William Shakespeare, premiered circa 1599. Act 1, scene 3. The words of the character Polonius to his son Laertes.
Keywords: Above_quotes All_quotes Self_quotes True_quotes Follow_quotes Night_quotes Day_quotes False_quotes Man_quotes

Thales

Know Thyself

“Know Thyself.”
Keywords: Knowledge_quotes Self_quotes

Shannon_Vallor

Fighting AI

“We can’t fight AI without fighting ourselves. The harms to people and to society that may follow from our relationship to ‘intelligent’ machines are not foreign assaults, but symptoms of an internal disorder: a fully human pathology that requires collective self-examination, critique, and most of all, healing.”
  • Source: From the book “The AI Mirror” by Shannon Vallor. Published 2024 by Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0197759066. Introduction, page 4.
Keywords: AI_quotes Artificial_quotes Intelligence_quotes Fight_quotes Ourself_quotes Harm_quotes People_quotes Society_quotes Follow_quotes Relationship_quotes Machine_quotes Foreign_quotes Assault_quotes Symptom_quotes Internal_quotes Disorder_quotes Full_quotes Human_quotes Pathology_quotes Require_quotes Collective_quotes Self_quotes Examination_quotes Critique_quotes Heal_quotes

Gerald_Weinberg

Egoless Programming and Cognitive Dissonance

“Now, what cognitive dissonance has to do with our programming conflict should be vividly clear. A programmer who truly sees his program as an extension of his own ego is not going to be trying to find all the errors in that program. On the contrary, he is going to be trying to prove that the program is correct — even if this means the oversight of errors which are monstrous to another eye.”
  • Source: Chapter 4. Weinberg, G. M. (2011). The Psychology of Computer Programming (Silver anniversary edition) | 1971. Weinberg & Weinberg.
Keywords: Egoless_quotes Cognition_quotes Dissonance_quotes Programming_quotes Conflict_quotes Programmer_quotes Program_quotes Extension_quotes Ego_quotes Self_quotes Error_quotes Debugging_quotes Proof_quotes Correctness_quotes Bias_quotes Oversight_quotes Monster_quotes Eye_quotes Observation_quotes Vivid_quotes Clear_quotes Try_quotes Find_quotes

Shoshana_Zuboff

Learning Environment

“The demands of a learning environment can reduce the psychological distance between the self and the organization because active engagement in the social processes associated with interpretation requires more extensive participation of the human personality. In a traditional approach to work organization, employees could be treated as objectively measurable bodies, and in return, they could give of their labor without giving of their selves. The human being as wage earner and the human being as subjective actor could remain separate.”
  • Source: Zuboff, S. (1988). In The Age Of The Smart Machine: The Future Of Work And Power. New York, NY: Basic Books, p. 401. ISBN:0465032125.
Keywords: Demand_quotes Learning_quotes Environment_quotes Psychology_quotes Self_quotes Organization_quotes Activity_quotes Engagement_quotes Society_quotes Process_quotes Interpretation_quotes Requirements_quotes Participation_quotes Humanity_quotes Personality_quotes Tradition_quotes Work_quotes Employee_quotes Treatment_quotes Object_quotes Measurement_quotes Labor_quotes Body_quotes Compensation_quotes Wage_quotes Subject_quotes Actor_quotes Separation_quotes Reduce_quotes Distance_quotes Associate_quotes Approach_quotes

Breed of American Worker

“There is a breed of American worker who cherishes the autonomy and sense of self-control afforded by his or her skills and protected by the union contract. When these workers contemplate the prospect of the socially integrated high-technology workplace, they feel despair. They anticipate a loss of their unique identities, of freedom and autonomy, and of well-defined rights and responsibilities. They fear that without the traditional sources of protection provided by their job descriptions and their contract, they will become prey to every capricious whim of their superiors. They understand that the managers' world requires the body as a political instrument for self-presentation and influence, but they know that these are talents they have not developed and toward which they feel more than a little distaste.”
  • Source: Zuboff, S. (1988). In The Age Of The Smart Machine: The Future Of Work And Power. New York, NY: Basic Books, p. 404. ISBN:0465032125.
Keywords: America_quotes Worker_quotes Autonomy_quotes Self_quotes Control_quotes Skill_quotes Protection_quotes Union_quotes Society_quotes Integration_quotes Technology_quotes Workplace_quotes Despair_quotes Anticipation_quotes Loss_quotes Uniqueness_quotes Identity_quotes Freedom_quotes Rights_quotes Responsibility_quotes Fear_quotes Tradition_quotes Job_quotes Description_quotes Contract_quotes Prey_quotes Supervision_quotes Management_quotes World_quotes Requirements_quotes Body_quotes Political_quotes Instrument_quotes Preservation_quotes Influence_quotes Talent_quotes Development_quotes Disgust_quotes Breed_quotes Capricious_quotes Whim_quotes Superior_quotes Distaste_quotes

Informating Strategy

“There are several lessons to be learned here. First, the requirements of an informating strategy support existing work-improvement efforts, such as the high commitment approach to work force management, with its emphasis on self-managing teams, participation, and decentralization.”
  • Source: Zuboff, S. (1988). In The Age Of The Smart Machine: The Future Of Work And Power. New York, NY: Basic Books, p. 413. ISBN:0465032125.
Keywords: Informating_quotes Strategy_quotes Lesson_quotes Learning_quotes Requirements_quotes Work_quotes Improvement_quotes Effort_quotes Commitment_quotes Force_quotes Management_quotes Self_quotes Participation_quotes Decentralization_quotes Human_Resources_quotes Team_quotes
Retrieved from "https://motleybytes.com/wiki/index.php?title=Self_quotes&oldid=46961"