Finding Solace in Favourite Quotes: Escaping Despair with Words of Wisdom

[Ivan Seeking]

96% of college professors believe they are above-average educators

- David Brooks, The Social Animal

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I hate your thoughts, sir, but I am ready to give up my life for your right to express them

- Voltaire

 

[nismaratwork]

I take the followings as cautionary:

Life is meaningless, life is empty. When we take a life, we take nothing of value.

"We have no respect for the laws. We consider your codes of ethics, and your laws, weaknesses to be exploited in the execution of our crimes.

La shaiq' waqee mutlak bl kollin moumkin. "Nothing is true, everything is permitted"

PF Quotes:

"I just unresolved the issue. And now I've resolved it again, just now. BAM!" (Greg Bernhardt)

"This is P&WA. We don't try the other guy's way. We tell the other guy that his way makes no sense and follow that with a personal attack." (Caffenta, said in jest)

General Quotes:

"It is part of the general pattern of misguided policy that our country is now geared to an arms economy which was bred in an artificially induced psychosis of war hysteria and nurtured upon an incessant propaganda of fear. While such an economy may produce a sense of seeming prosperity for the moment, it rests on an illusionary foundation of complete unreliability and renders among our political leaders almost a greater fear of peace than is their fear of war."

"Terrible he rode alone, With his yemen sword for aid; Ornament it carried none But the notches on the blade." (The Death Feud, trans from Arabic in 1800's)

"This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."

"All our knowledge merely helps us to die a more painful death than animals that know nothing." (Maurice Maeterlinck)

"In any man who dies there dies with him
his first snow and kiss and fight...
Not people die but worlds die in them."

Пусть будет сном что пережито мною [Pust' budet snom chto perezhito mnoyu] “Let all I have lived be as if it were a dream”
Не верь, не бойся, не проси» "Ne ver', ne bojsya, ne prosi" "don't trust, don't be afraid, don't beg"

"Your grandfather? Stay away from him you dimwitted monkey. You mustn't interfere with the past. Don't do anything that affects anything, unless it turns out you were supposed to do it. In which case. for the love of God, don't not do it!" (Prof Hubert Farnsworth from Futurama)

The thing about Hash Cakes is this: Start off with one, wait about an hour see how you feel. Don't eat fifteen in one go, cause you will see the devil, and he'll try to rip your heart out through your kneecaps

Battle not with monsters lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss the abyss gazes also into you.

"We have finished the job. What shall we do with the tools?" (Haile Selassie) — Telegram to Winston Churchill, 1941

You’re in the desert, you see a tortoise lying on its back, struggling, and you’re not helping — why is that?

"Life is full of decisons. Sometimes you make the right ones, and sometimes you have to kill all the witnesses." (anon)

How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is
To have a thankless child!

Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.

"The last thing I ever wanted was to be alive when the three most powerful people on the whole planet would be named Bush, Dick and Colon." (Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.)

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.

"
Any fact that needs to be disclosed should be put out now or as quickly as possible, because otherwise the bleeding will not end." (Henry Kissinger)
"The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer." (Henry Kissinger)
"While we should never give up our principles, we must also realize that we cannot maintain our principles unless we survive." (Henry Kissinger)
"High office teaches decision making, not substance. It consumes intellectual capital; it does not create it. Most high officials leave office with the perceptions and insights with which they entered; they learn how to make decisions but not what decisions to make." (Henry Kissinger)
"Corrupt politicians make the other ten percent look bad." (Henry Kissinger)

"Never before in the history of warfare had there been a continuing explosive; indeed, up to the middle of the twentieth century the only explosives known were combustibles whose explosiveness was due entirely to their instantaneousness; and these atomic bombs which science burst upon the world that night were strange even to the men who used them." (H.G. Wells; The World Set Free, published 1914)

“Exercitus noster est magnus,” Persicus inquit, “et propter
numerum sagittarum nostrarum caelum non videbitis!”
Tum Lacedaemonius respondet: “In umbra, igitur, pugnabimus!”
Et Leonidas, rex Lacedaemoniorum, exclamat: “Pugnate cum animis,
Lacedaemonii; hodie apud umbras fortasse cenabimus!”

"Our army is great,” the Persian says, “and because
of the number of our arrows you will not see the sky!”
Then a Spartan answers: “In the shade, therefore, we will fight!”
And Leonidas, king of the Spartans, shouts: “Fight with spirit,
Spartans; perhaps we will dine today among the ghosts!”

"In war there can be no substitute for victory, war's very object is victory, not prolonged indecision." (Gen MacArthur re: Korea)

Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.

"He is one of those people who would be enormously improved by death." (H.H. Munroe)

"Some men are alive simply because it is against the law to kill them." (Edward W. Howe)

"...And crawling, on the planet's face, some insects, called the Human Race. Lost in time, and lost in space, and meaning." (RHPS)

Setec Astronomy (Sneakers)

To reign over the kingdom of the world. To make its peace and write its laws. To be generous to the obedient and merciless to all those who would stand against you. Nothing ever changes. 2000 years and you still act as if the world is yours.

"You appear foolish in the eyes of others. I mock your value system. Past instances where I may have professed to like you were fraudulent. I have had sexual intercourse with your spouse or signifigant other." (Homer Simpson)

P.S. please if you get a chanse put some flowrs on Algernons grave in the bak yard.

H
AL-9000: Dr. Chandra, will I dream?
Dr. Chandra: I don't know.

... And I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes.

"Sick on my journey, only my dreams will wander, these desolate moors." (Basho's Death Poem)

Conservative: "A statesmen who is enamoured of existing evils, as distinguished from a liberal, who wishes to replace them with others." (Ambrose Bierce)
Politicians: "People who, when they see the light at the end of the tunnel, order more tunnel." (John Quintan)
Appeasers: "People who believe if you keep throwing steaks at a tiger, he'll become a vegeterian." (Heywood Brown)
Committee: "A cul-de-sac down which ideas are lured and then quietly strangled." (John A. Lincoln)
Fools: "Ninety Nine percent of people in the world - and the rest of us are in great danger of contagion." (William Whyte)
Cheese: "Milk's leap towards immortality." (Clifton Fadiman)
Auctioneer: "Someone who proclaims with a hammer that he's picked your pocket with his tongue." (anon.)
Certainty: "Being mistaken at the top of one's voice." (Ambrose Bierce)
Reporter: "A man who has renounced everything in life but the world, the flesh, and the devil." (David Murray)
Charity: "The steralised milk of human kindness." (Oliver Herford)
Propaganda: "A monologue which seeks not a response, but an echo." (W.H. Auden)
Cricket: "A game invented by religious fundamentalists to explain the idea of eternal hell to non-Chrisitan indigenous people of the former British Empire." (Joe O'Connor)

And the greatest... I transcribed this from an episode of Iron Chef, the comment is made by a very delicate looking young actress/judge:
"mmm and it makes a great conversation piece too!.. you know, 'hey look... DUCK FEET! yum!" (quote from Iron Chef)

 

[OmCheeto]

I've seen things, you people wouldn't believe...
Attack ships on fire, off the shoulder of Orion.
I watched c-beams, glitter in the dark, near the Tanhauser Gate.

All those moments, will be lost, in time, like tears, in rain.

Time to die.

:zzz:

 

[DanP]

I've seen things, you people wouldn't believe...
Attack ships on fire, off the shoulder of Orion.
I watched c-beams, glitter in the dark, near the Tanhauser Gate.

All those moments, will be lost, in time, like tears, in rain.

Time to die.

:zzz:

Run, Roy, run !

 

[OmCheeto]

Lori: [Kicks Doug in the face]

That's for making me come to Mars.

[kicks his groin]

You know how much I hate this ****ing planet!

Next time there is any confusion over whether or not computers should be involved in investing on Wall Street, ask a computer...

 

[FtlIsAwesome]

Today is a good day to die.

 

[FizixFreak]

Nismar that is one hell of a "collection" here is a quote from my accounting teacher which casually translates to

"The world has changed..., slow and steady will DEFINITELY lose the race"

he was implying that you cannot be slow in this fast paced world

This is from a Punjabi movie from my country(translated)

VILLAIN:"You fool this is my territory"

HERO:"Only cats and dogs sets limits to their territories not humans and for your own sake remember one thing that from this day...,this territory is mine"

 

[nismaratwork]

Nismar that is one hell of a "collection" here is a quote from my accounting teacher which casually translates to

"The world has changed..., slow and steady will DEFINITELY lose the race"

he was implying that you cannot be slow in this fast paced world

This is from a Punjabi movie from my country(translated)

VILLAIN:"You fool this is my territory"

HERO:"Only cats and dogs sets limits to their territories not humans and for your own sake remember one thing that from this day...,this territory is mine"

I've been collecting quotes for years... I used to use an Irc script to 'release' one upon someone's kick or banning.

ANYWAY, I like that line from the movie.

You might enjoy this (from the original True Grit... haven't seen the remake)

Villain is Ned (Ned Pepper) the Hero is Rooster (Rooster Cogburn).

Ned: What's your intention, Rooster? You think one on four is a dog-fall? [dog fall is a tie in standing wrestling]
Rooster: I mean to kill you in one minute, Ned, or see you hanged at Fort Smith at Judge Parker's convenience. Which'll it be?
Ned: I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat man!
Rooster: Fill your handd, you son of a [bleep]! [filll your hands meaning, draw your guns]

 

[FizixFreak]

I've been collecting quotes for years... I used to use an Irc script to 'release' one upon someone's kick or banning.

ANYWAY, I like that line from the movie.

You might enjoy this (from the original True Grit... haven't seen the remake)

Villain is Ned (Ned Pepper) the Hero is Rooster (Rooster Cogburn).

Hhahahahaha..., it took me some time to understand it but that was funny.

I don't know if you watch mma or not but this one is from the former UFC heavywieght champion tim sylvia

"90% of fighting is half mental"

I think he is not very good at math

 

[nismaratwork]

Hhahahahaha..., it took me some time to understand it but that was funny.

I don't know if you watch mma or not but this one is from the former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia

"90% of fighting is half mental"

I think he is not very good at math

Oh I watch... isn't Sylvia the guy who's arm was snapped below the elbow and he didn't even KNOW it?!

I found this years ago in the middle of a forum argument about MMA vs. Kung Fu. The discussion had become very silly, and the guy arguing for MMA finally said this:

"MMA isn't suited for counterterrorism, animal attacks, and futuristic underwater combat. Ya got me there. Next time I'm getting attacked by a bear in the Atlantic Ocean with a bomb strapped to his chest, I'll be sure to use my Kung Fu instead of MMA." (unkown)

(My horrible online translation follows)

راس نہیں ہے کہ ایم ایم اے کے counterterrorism, جانور اور futuristic زیراب حملوں کا مقابلہ ہے. انتظامیہ نے مجھے. اگلی بار مجھے ملنے سے حملہ میں ایک خرس بحر اوقیانوس کے ایک بم ریا ستیوں ان کے سینے میں جاؤں گا. میری بات استعمال kung دورہ کرنے والوں کے بجائے ایم ایم اے."

 

[FizixFreak]

Oh I watch... isn't Sylvia the guy who's arm was snapped below the elbow and he didn't even KNOW it?!

I found this years ago in the middle of a forum argument about MMA vs. Kung Fu. The discussion had become very silly, and the guy arguing for MMA finally said this:

"MMA isn't suited for counterterrorism, animal attacks, and futuristic underwater combat. Ya got me there. Next time I'm getting attacked by a bear in the Atlantic Ocean with a bomb strapped to his chest, I'll be sure to use my Kung Fu instead of MMA." (unkown)

(My horrible online translation follows)

راس نہیں ہے کہ ایم ایم اے کے counterterrorism, جانور اور futuristic زیراب حملوں کا مقابلہ ہے. انتظامیہ نے مجھے. اگلی بار مجھے ملنے سے حملہ میں ایک خرس بحر اوقیانوس کے ایک بم ریا ستیوں ان کے سینے میں جاؤں گا. میری بات استعمال kung دورہ کرنے والوں کے بجائے ایم ایم اے."

what the hell was that guy thinking hahahahahahahahah counter terrorism, bears, under water combat what the hell?

You didnt needed to translate that but when i read the translation i laughed even harder

 

[nismaratwork]

what the hell was that guy thinking hahahahahahahahah counter terrorism, bears, under water combat what the hell?

You didnt needed to translate that but when i read the translation i laughed even harder

The discussion had turned to which you'd use in, "real life", and people actually mentioned Navy SEALS, fighting animals... weird stuff. This guy was throwing up his hands and saying, "to hell with this!".

 

[FizixFreak]

The discussion had turned to which you'd use in, "real life", and people actually mentioned Navy SEALS, fighting animals... weird stuff. This guy was throwing up his hands and saying, "to hell with this!".

Good thing we never get that serious in our conversations

I am glad that you watch MMA have you any back ground in any martial arts?

Here are some more from mma

“I don’t want to lick any butt.” – GSP

“He beat me fair & square. no, I’m sorry, he beat me fairly squarely” – GSP

when asked "how do you punch so hard"? Rampage Jackson replied

"I put my a** into it"

 

[nismaratwork]

Good thing we never get that serious in our conversations

I am glad that you watch MMA have you any back ground in any martial arts?

Here are some more from mma

“I don’t want to lick any butt.” – GSP

“He beat me fair & square. no, I’m sorry, he beat me fairly squarely” – GSP

when asked "how do you punch so hard"? Rampage Jackson replied

"I put my a** into it"

Jackson... that is one scary dude in the octagon.

I do have a background in martial arts, but nothing as extensive as an MMA fighter, more for practical self defense on one hand, and the mental and physical conditioning on the other. How about you?

 

[FizixFreak]

Jackson... that is one scary dude in the octagon.

I do have a background in martial arts, but nothing as extensive as an MMA fighter, more for practical self defense on one hand, and the mental and physical conditioning on the other. How about you?

Done some kick boxing in the past and also some sanshou but i was on a beginner level i would love to spar with you any way what are your stats (weight and height)?

Any ways this is one from our own president

"Even more gorgeous than I had expected, now I know why the whole of America is crazy about you. If he’s (cameraman) insisting, I might hug you".

To Sara Palin former vice president candidate.

 

[nismaratwork]

Done some kick boxing in the past and also some sanshou but i was on a beginner level i would love to spar with you any way what are your stats (weight and height)?

6'2" and too damned heavy in the last few years... on the downswing fortunately. I started with NLF (Northern Long Fist) Kung Fu, branched out to Escrima, and then non-sport Krav Maga.

It's been quite a while since I've sparred to be honest.

 

[FizixFreak]

6'2" and too damned heavy in the last few years... on the downswing fortunately. I started with NLF (Northern Long Fist) Kung Fu, branched out to Escrima, and then non-sport Krav Maga.

It's been quite a while since I've sparred to be honest.

Hmmmmmmmmmm..., assuming you are in the same age group as i am..., you will definitely kick my butt i am 5'9-5'10 and 150 lbs

By the way speaking of sarah palin

"But obviously, we've got to stand with our North Korean allies."

Why should i bash only the politicians of my country.

 

[nismaratwork]

Hmmmmmmmmmm..., assuming you are in the same age group as i am..., you will definitely kick my butt i am 5'9-5'10 and 150 lbs

By the way speaking of sarah palin

"But obviously, we've got to stand with our North Korean allies."

Why should i bash only the politicians of my country.

I think Palin-bashing should be recognized as a sport by the Olympic Committee.

 

[FizixFreak]

I think Palin-bashing should be recognized as a sport by the Olympic Committee.

Well you have probably seen this before but i think they deserve each other

 

[nismaratwork]

Well you have probably seen this before but i think they deserve each other

I hadn't seen it, but I remember Pinky and The Brain... that's incredilby accurate.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I've been collecting quotes for years...

What a coincidence! So do I. For a time I kept the quotes somewhat organized but at this point it's sort of a free-for-all.

You will find some quotes from PFers, including one from Evo.
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America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
- Abraham Lincoln

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I know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military is a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history.

I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda. I am not opposed to all wars. I’m opposed to dumb wars.
- Barack Obama, October, 2002
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16903253/page/2/
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Love is fleeting but stuff lasts forever. I want to keep my stuff.

Marriage? It would be easier to just find a woman that I don’t like and buy her a house.

Robert Novak? I love Robert Novak. He has one of the finest minds of the 12th century.
- Paul Begala

We can say how many of a million suns may rise, but as for ours I fear the morn. - me

“The trouble with our times,” Paul Valéry said, “is that the future is not what it used to be.”

Leaders of the future must have:
Inner mastery; a central, compelling purpose rooted in moral values; a capacity to persuade; skills in working within the system; a fast start; a strong, effective team; and a passion that inspires others to keep the flame alive.
- David Gergen, Eyewitness to Power

In the 24th century, there will be no hunger, there will be no greed, and all of the children will know how to read. – Gene Roddenberry


Originally Posted by motai
Poetry is mightier than the sword/spear/halberd/lance/pistol/assault rifle/club/etc.
As your assailant comes down upon you, instead of resisting with force, you confuse them by reciting ambiguous poetry such as Pushkin's The Bronze Horseman, and while they are scratching their heads and trying to figure out the general theme and underlying morals of the poem, you'd make your getaway .
Though that is rather unlikely.

This is quite a well established fact. It's the very reason that the war-cry was invented. The first mention of a war cry was by Homer, in his Illiad. As the greeks charged the Trojan lines, the Trojan war poets began to recite their verses, but unexpectedly, all the greeks let loose with a collective cry of "Λα Λα Λα δεν μπορεί να σας ακούσει!", which translates roughly as "La la la, can't hear you!" The poets were slaughtered, and the Trojans forced to retreat behind the city walls.
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Politicians are just lawyers gone bad - Integral

The true danger is when liberty is nibbled away, for expedients, and by parts."
Edmund Burke

Originally Posted by Evo
Nothing gets your toe to tapping more than an accordion.


------------------------------
Occam's razor probably creates as much confusion as it dispels. But then again, Occam never what he is usually attributed having said:
"Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem." or "Entities should not be multiplied more than necessary."

His actual words were:
"Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate" or "Plurality should not be posited without necessity."

This is good practical advise, as is "Do not multiply entities unnecessarily" and "Of two competing theories or explanations, all other things being equal, the simpler one is to be preferred.", which is another saying he did not say.

While occasionally useful, these principles have no scientific validity. You may as well say a screwdriver is more valid than a pipe wrench because it has fewer moving parts – Chronos at PF
--------------------------------

Eddington once said, proof is the alter on which mathematicians self-flaggelate themselves.

But somehow, the choice one makes affects one’s outlook and direction of attack. If one has to consider new physics one should be open to both points of view. In the unlikely event that there is new physics, one does not want to miss it because one had the wrong mind set. - John D. Anderson; Study of the anomalous acceleration of Pioneer 10 and 11
http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/gr-qc/pdf/0104/0104064.pdf


To paraphrase Santayana: Newspapers ignorant of history are condemned to reprint it

Creative research is having confidence in nonsense. Burt Rutan; Black Sky The Race for Space. 10/12/04

Ghosts were people too.

Every thought that you have, and every feeling that you have, is conditioned by what you believe to be real. --- Fred Alan Wolf

“The old saying that ‘man fears time, but time fears the [Egyptian] pyramids’ is not true… One day, archeologists may even argue, that the pyramids never even existed”. -- Arthur C. Clark. On Ancient Puzzles – The Discovery Channel..

“A mummy is something that never stops giving.” – a noted archeologist

"In the counsels of Government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the Military Industrial Complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together."
---- President Eisenhower - January 1961

'If one wishes to obtain a definite answer from Nature one must attack the question from a more general and less selfish point of view.' Max Planck (1858-1947)

"Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused."

Researchers in Fairbanks Alaska announced last week that they have discovered a superconductor which will operate at room temperature. -- unknown

"I hate your thoughts, Sir, but I am ready to give up my life for your right to express them"... Voltaire in one of his letters:

People think that scientists like to understand things. Really though, scientists like to not understand things because that gives us something to do. ----Prof. Lawrence M. Krauss
Grabel's law: 2 is not equal to 3 - not even for large values of 2.

When the Baath party was finally ejected from his town, and when asked what he wanted now that Hussein’s people were gone, one old Iraqi gent responded: “Democracy, whiskey, and sexy”.

I would rather have a regimen of German soldiers in front of me than a legion of French soldiers behind me. - General Patton


The electron is not as simple as it looks.
-- (William) Lawrence Bragg, British Physicist(1890-1971)

I know that this defies the law of gravity, but, you see, I never studied
law. -Bugs Bunny


Man will never reach the moon regardless of all future scientific advances.
-- Dr. Lee De Forest, inventor of the vacuum tube and father of
television.


@A: Dyson, Freeman J.
@Q: We have learned that matter is weird stuff. It is weird enough,
so that it does not limit God's freedom to make it do what he pleases.
@R: Ch. 1, p. 8, _Infinite in All Directions: Gifford lectures given at
Aberdeen, Scotland, April-November 1985_; edited by the author (Harper &
Row, New York, 1988).


"One thing they don't tell you about doing experimental physics is that
sometimes you must work under adverse conditions ... like a state of
sheer terror." -- W. K. Hartmann

“The second law of thermodynamics holds, I think, the supreme position among the laws of nature. If someone points out to you that your pet theory of the Universe is in disagreement with Maxwell’s equations - then so much the worse for Maxwell’s equations. If it is found to be contradicted by observation - well, those experimentalists do bungle things up sometimes. but if your theory is found to be against the second law of thermodynamics I can give you no hope;
there is nothing to do but to collapse in deepest humiliation.”
-------- Arthur S. Eddington (British Astrophysicist, 1882-1944) in The nature of the Physical World (1928)

The Doctoral student Ilse Rosenthal-Schneider asked Einstein in 1919 how he would have reacted if his general theory of relativity had not been confirmed experimentally that year by Arthur Eddington and Frank Dyson.
His answer was: "Then I would feel sorry for the good Lord. The theory is orrect anyway."


Fermi was asked what characteristics physics Nobelists had in common.
He answered, "I cannot think of a single one, not even intelligence."
Enrico Fermi, Italian physicist, 1901-1954 (Phys Today, Oct 1994, pg70)


I love only nature, and I hate mathematicians. - Richard Feynman (1918-1988)

Physics is to Math what Sex is to Masturbation
--Richard Feynman

What I am going to tell you about is what we teach our physics students in
the third or fourth year of graduate school... It is my task to convince
you not to turn away because you don't understand it. You see my physics
students don't understand it... That is because I don't understand it.
Nobody does.

Feynman, Richard P. (1918-1988) b. Far Rockaway, New York
Richard P. Feynman, QED, The Strange Theory of Light and Matter, Penguin
Books, London, 1990, p 9. (1) \ Nobel Lecture, 1966

@A: Murray Gell-Mann
@Q: Niels Bohr brainwashed a whole generation of physicists into
believing that the problem [of the interpretation of quantum mechanics]
had been solved fifty years ago.
@R: Acceptance speech Noble Price (1976)

When in trouble,
When in doubt,
Run in circles,
Scream and Shout!

"[Smart Experimentalist]: 'Yeah, it is reminiscent of what distinguishes the good theorists from the bad ones. The good ones always make an even number of sign errors, and the bad ones always make an odd number.'"-Anthony Zee, Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell


"To those who say that the soldiers are fighting so that we have the right to protest: If that's what they're fighting for, then they should be glad that somebody is using that right."
“I have only made this longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter.“
(Pascal, 1657)
The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.
-Bertrand Russell

A mathematician is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat which isn't there
--Charles R. Darwin

Of course we know the Iraqis have weapons of mass destruction. We have the receipts." -Dick Cheney


But I simply refuse to consider myself of the same species as those disgusting hairless hominids!
Now give me that banana!

"He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice."

-Albert Einstein

'There must be no barriers for freedom of inquiry. There is no place for dogma in science. The scientist is free, and must be free to ask any question, to doubt any assertion, to seek for any evidence, to correct any errors.'
J. Robert Oppenheimer
(1904-1966)


I want to sit with the rich dummies." Quote from my brother following a dinner discussion on the nature of light. – Artman at PF.com

Experience is what you get immediately after you need it. - Echo 6 Sierra
at PF.com

The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future life. The Republic, bk. IV, 425 – B

Humor


What do you call the person who graduates last in his or her class, and from the worst medical school in the country? Answer: Doctor.

"Mrs. Felix: Why don't you do your homework?
Allen Felix: The Universe is expanding. Everything will fall apart, and we'll all die. What's the point?
Mrs. Felix: We live in Brooklyn. Brooklyn is not expanding! Go do your homework.
(from Annie Hall by Woody Allen)

Some of God’s greatest gifts are unkempt campaign promises - Machiavelli

The man with the gold makes the rules - Machiavelli

Flying a plane is like riding a bike...it’s just harder to put the baseball cards in the spokes.
-Robert Stack; Airplane.

Caution: Objects in mirror are more confused than they appear

You are more likely to be killed by a pig than by a shark. – Biologist; The History Channel, Beach, Sun, 911 – 7/7/01


Question posed to a biologist:
What is the evolutionary advantage in having knees that bend forward instead of backwards…i.e. why don’t our knees bend the other way?
Answer received:
“Bipedal animals that had backward-bending knees could only run backwards and they kept bumping into trees. That's why they became extinct.”

If you are racing through rush hour traffic, a coffee cup in one hand and a cell phone in the other, and you are looking for your notebook and steering with your knees, all while phone conferencing with the boss and the boss’s boss, you are not driving dangerously.
You are multi-tasking!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

"'No user-serviceable parts inside.’ I'll be the judge of that!" – Every nerd in the world

I always get a chuckle when I tell the party animals that most of the helium they are breathing came about as a by-product from the decay of Uranium "You mean the Atom Bomb?."... …Sometimes it's fun to be a physicist...

I used to drive a Heisenberg, but every time I looked at the
speedometer I got lost. – [For an explanation see Heisenberg’s uncertainty priciple]

On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk. – O.J.

Newton is for apes! – The new battle-cry of the trekkies

Why do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway? - Gallagher

OBSERVATIONS

Here day fights with night.
(the last words of Victor Hugo)

In philosophy, the English Channel is much wider than the Atlantic

"Given time and plenty of paper, philosophers can prove anything."
---Robert Heinlein

"Don't spend $2 to dry-clean a shirt. Donate it to the Salvation Army instead. They'll clean it and put it on a hanger. Next morning buy it back for 75 cents." ---

"It's difficult ... you need to be united to have any strength, but internal issues have to be addressed." --- E. Ray Lewis, on liberalism in America.

The mood and temper of the public in regard to the treatment of crime and criminals is one of the most unfailing tests of the civilization of any country. - Winston Churchill

"Make no judgments where you have no compassion."

The primary cause of all of the worlds problems is low self esteem.

"Sometimes a majority simply means that all the fools are on the same side. "

Men see the world as a battle to be won; women see it as a community to be preserved.
– Lorena Bobbit…..[yes I am pulling your leg] – Men are From Mars, Women are from Venus.

Give me a small laser and I'll move the sun. – unknown

“When you can measure what you are speaking about and express it in numbers, you know something about it." Lord Kelvin (1824-1907)

The class of all questions contains an infinite number of members (since it is possible to go on indefinitely adding clauses to create questions of indefinite length and complexity). But there are only a finite number of answered questions, so the ratio is 0:1. .---- Charles Francis
----Corollary: we know nothing.---- Charles Francis

Men are a bit more apt than women to believe intelligent alien life exists, 51 percent to 43 percent. Younger adults are more credulous. But less-educated adults are more dubious, as are Republicans. No alien tax cut for them.
--- "Chris Wallace's Internet Expose" special on UFOs on ABCNEWS.com.--- copied 7/8/01.

Estimate: Two to four million people are having sex right now.

Given a typical life span, you can expect to spend about three and a half months having sex [in the strictest sense].
--- If “you were there,” but you don’t remember the sixties, double this number.
--- If you live in California, of if you play the electric guitar, triple this number
--- If you reeeeeeally like Star Trek, divide by two
--- If you attend Star Trek conventions, divide by eight.

A study was done to determine the average number of tactile contacts between husbands and wives [in a public place] as a function of culture. Although the numbers given here are not necessarily accurate they still convey the idea. “Couples from India touched each other an average of fifteen times per hour. Chinese couples touched about twelve times every hour. The French came in at about eight times per hour, and Americans averaged about three times every hour. “As for the British, we are still waiting.” --- Dr. Depak Chopra

Gloria: Do you know that 60 percent of all deaths in America are caused by guns?
Archie Bunker: Would it make you feel any better if dey was pushed out of windows?
---Carol OConner; All in the Family



There's a solution of the equations of general relativity called the Aichelburg-Saxl solution, which describes massless black holes moving at the speed of light. There's no experimental evidence that these actually exist, but they're fun to think about nonetheless, since you can use the equations of general relativity to figure out what they would do if they did. – Dr. John Baez

"'We are beginning to see how universes can be created,' Professor Harrison says [in an article in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society and published in the London Times about June 1999]. 'A small amount of matter -- roughly 10 kg -- at very high energy is forged into a black hole. Under the correct conditions, the interior of the black hole inflates into a new universe that endures for billions of years and contains billions of galaxies.' " At most, he argues, human intelligence is only one million years old. 'If we can already see how in principle universes can be created, then surely our descendants in the far future will have the knowledge and technology to design and create them.'"

In complex space-time, there exists a path of zero distance between any two points -

“Our universe is probably a black hole…it meets all of the [mathematical] criteria. If you want to know what it looks like inside of a black hole, just look around your room.” Dr. Michio Kaku

Academia is not the place for unconventional thought. ---David M. Jacobs, Ph.D.
[stated as an observation and point of frustration, not as an opinion].

Definitions:
Expert: knows almost everything about almost nothing
Generalist: knows almost nothing about almost everything

Logic cannot actually be employed to gain knowledge about the world around us. Logic is a more abstract process of creating knowledge. – quote from a logician who’s name is not known.

Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from bad decisions. --- Cliff Jarvis

Look at a dog, and picture him wearing spike heels with a LONG
foot. What you are calling his knee is really his ankle! – unknown biologist

Don't teach a pig to sing…it wastes your time and annoys the pig. ---

Weep not for those who were, rather for those who may never be. –A. Einstein?

"The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." Albert Einstein

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
Martin Luther King, Jr

…so the White House is tapping into a public opinion interested in global warming but wanting to spread the burden around the world. “Until that happens”, [President] Bush is arguing, “we will do our own thing” – ABC News Service. About 3/26/01

"When you argue with a fool, chances are he is doing just the same" ---

President Bush indicated today that Roe vs. Wade are the alternatives when crossing the Potomac. – Brian Williams

“The warning light is flashing on the dashboard of America“ --- President George Bush Jr.
[yikes! Now I’m really scared.]

“Logically unsound; confused and unprincipled; unwise to the extreme.” - Chinese President Jiang Zemin speaking in conference to Asian nations regarding President George Bush Jr.; 5/25/01.

One exciting element of this generation is that it could be the last.

"Everything that can be invented has been invented."
--Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899

Keep the company of those who seek the truth and run from those who have found it. – Ancient; from India.

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence – common saying among SETI researchers

You can take comfort in the fact that if something doesn't exist, it won't be detected

"If aliens exist, or if aliens don't exist, either way, it is a frightening thought. If aliens don't exist, then we are alone, and that's very scary. If we are not alone, that's even scarier, because look at the history of what happens when different civilizations collided in the last four hundred years." -- Arthur C. Clarke

The reasonable man adapts to the world around him, while the unreasonable person tries to change the world to suit him. Conclusion: Change only occurs because of unreasonable people.

Beware the fury of a patient man."

If you continue on your present course you will likely end up where you are going.
– an ancient Chinese proverb.

Paradox:
I have a stick. A rock sits on the table in front of you. If you pick-up the rock, I will hit you with the stick. If you do not pick-up the rock, I will hit you with the stick. What is solution?
Solution:
Tcajkwer aqwoajyg trheew smtlibcvkh. [To decode, eliminate the 2nd, 4th, 6th…letter in each word].

Remember: May 4th is International Tuba Day. Pay homage to your tuba!

I have often observed the great irony of working class wealth: If you have it, you rarely have time to enjoy it.- DW

A master craftsman who hand-makes luxury sailing yachts reflects on his skills: “I worked long hours for seven years as an apprentice. When I finished my apprenticeship, I thought that I knew how to build a boat. Now [twenty years later] I know that back then, I only knew how to use the tools. I will spend the rest of my life learning how to build a boat.” – name unknown

Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.- The Proverbs, 16:18

He that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent. - The Proverbs, 28:20

Where there is no vision, the people perish. -The Proverbs, 29:18

“I ‘ve got to get the vision thing” – President George W. Bush: responding to questions by reporters as to why Bill Clinton was leading in the polls just before the 1992 election.

In much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. --- Ecclesiastes; or The Preacher, 1:18

Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees.-- The Revelation of Saint John the Divine, 7:3

He harms himself who does harm to another, and the evil plan is most harmful to the planner. ----Works and Days, l. 265 ; Hesiod c. 700 B.C.
Observe due measure, for right timing is in all things the most important factor---. Works and Days, l. 694; Hesiod c. 700 B.C.
Know thyself ---. Inscription at the Delphic Oracle. From PLUTARCH, Mora-- The Seven Sages

The superior man cannot be known in little matters, but he may be entrusted with great concerns. The small man may not be entrusted with great concerns, but he may be known in little matters. ----The Confucian Analects, bk. 15:33

For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time: hatred ceases by love — this is the eternal law. ---- Suttapitaka. Dhammapada, 1:5


A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. --The Way of Lao tzu, 64

If a man insisted always on being serious, and never allowed himself a bit of fun and relaxation, he would go mad or become unstable without knowing it. -- The Histories of Herodotus, bk. II, ch. 173
---modern: All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.

The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves. Oedipus Rex, l. 1230

This is the bitterest pain among men, to have much knowledge but no power. The Histories of Herodotus, bk. IX, ch. 16

Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true. Third Olynthiac, sec. 19

Much learning does not teach understanding. On the Universe, fragment 16

To be able to practice five things everywhere under heaven constitutes perfect virtue. . . . [They are] gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness.-- The Confucian Analects, bk. 17:6

We live, not as we wish to, but as we can. - Lady of Andros, fragment 50
Seize the day, put no trust in the morrow! -- Horace [Quintus Horatius Flaccus] 65 – 8 B.C. Odes, bk. I [23 B.C.], ode xi, last line

Those who know how to win are much more numerous than those who know how to make proper use of their victories. -- Polybius c. 200 – c. 118 B.C.
History, bk. X, 36

The life which is unexamined is not worth living. Dialogues, Apology, sec. 38

Idleness and lack of occupation tend — nay are dragged — towards evil. Decorum, bk. I

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.
-Antoine de Saint Exurpery in The Little Prince

“The elementary principle of all deception is to attract the enemy's attention to what you wish him to see, and to distract his attention from what you do not wish him to see.”
- General Sir Archibald Wavell,
Memorandum to the British Chiefs of Staff, 1940

And the lion will lie down with the lamb...at least until dinnertime - unknown

"A coward meets his fate in his own hideout."

I live with my head in the clouds because of the great view - DW

Show me a man with both feet planted firmly on the ground and I’ll show you a man who can’t get his pants off – Roy K.

Small minds talk about people. Average minds talk about events. Great minds talk about ideas – [loosely quoted] Eleanor Roosevelt.

A. Einstein: “God doesn’t play dice” [with the universe]
Niels Bohr: “Who are you to say what God does?”

[To] confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit."
-- Stephen Hawking

“A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing
its opponents and making them see the light, but rather
because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation
grows up that is familiar with it." - Max Planck

Science progresses one death at a time – A. Einstein

We are both spirit and flesh. There are no contradictions
- Werner Heisenberg

"Men become civilized, not in proportion to their willingness
to believe, but in proportion to their readiness to doubt."
--H. L. Mencken



"There exists a shadowy Government with its own Air Force, its own Navy, its own fundraising mechanism, and the ability to pursue its own ideas of national interest, free from all checks and balances, and free from the law itself." - Senator Daniel K. Inouye

"In the counsels of Government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the Military Industrial Complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together." - [former five-star general] President Eisenhower - January 1961

Knowledge is the Antidote for Fear

Such a tangled web we weave when first we practice to perceive.

Between true science and erroneous doctrines, ignorance is in the middle.” -Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan

"Speak the truth, but leave immediately after."

"Out of the quarrel with others we make rhetoric,
out of the quarrel with ourselves we make poetry..."
- W.B Yeats

Magic is nothing but a sufficiently advanced technology – Arthur C. Clark

Belief lies between the imagined and the measured – DW

Anyone who understands Quantum Mechanics hasn’t yet studied it long enough.
-Richard P. Feynman

I estimate that I will publish in about 10^24 years – DW

"The half of knowledge is knowing where to find knowledge" - Anon.
Motto over the entrance to Dodd Hall, former library at FSCW.

CREATE, COMMUNICATE, COLLABORATE – unknown

A thinking computer...you mean, like a swimming ship?

Definitions:
Micro-evolution: evolution for which the evidence is so
overwhelming that even the ICR can't deny it.
Macro-evolution: evolution which is only proven beyond
reasonable doubt, not beyond unreasonable doubt.
– unknown

The odds of life occurring through purely random events is about the same as the Oxford English Dictionary resulting from a print shop explosion – A. Einstein [reportedly]

I know that I know more than you, because at least I know that I know nothing.- Socrates.

To use popular language, Einstein showed us that we are reality challenged – unknown

Every time you take a breath, there exists approximately a 100% chance that you will inhale at least one air molecule that was exhaled by Julius Caesar in his dying breath. [Easily argued in thermodynamics using the laws of large numbers. This applies to every breath from every person who ever lived more than two thousand years ago].

Calculus students are required to calculate the surface area and volume of highly irregular [and sometimes purely mathematical] objects. One class of objects arises that have a finite volume but an infinite surface area – you can fill it but you could never paint it!

Known as the Canter-Bernstein theorem, it can easily be shown that an infinite number of infinities exist [mathematically]; we just don’t know which infinity describes the number [called the cardinality] of infinite sets.

 

[Lancelot59]

I don't think I'd want to breathe any of Julius Caesar's death-air.

 

[Zryn]

"Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair"

 

[FizixFreak]

Training and hard work can help human come over disadvantages of genetics and any type of adversity i believe humans are the most superior beings because they learn and adapt things through hard work better then any other species we are not superior due to appausable thumbs or our ability to walk upright so yeah hard work is the key in any walk of life(now if i could just come over my laziness and get of from the couch and go to pee)

Yours truly FizixFreak

 

[OmCheeto]

When in trouble,
When in doubt,
Run in circles,
Scream and Shout!

One of my favorites of all time.

Anyone know where that came from? Someone just said is was very Seussesque.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

One of my favorites of all time.

Anyone know where that came from? Someone just said is was very Seussesque.

Someone here had it as a sig... not sure who now.

 

[nismaratwork]

I forgot this one... I transcribed it years ago during an Ohio "sniper" spree. This is a former CNN anchor, who had possibly 3 neurons, all desprately trying to keep her alive... little was left for thougt.

I filed this under:Sublime idiocy: "It's not a needle in a haystack, it's a haystack full of bullets" (Daryn Kagen of CNN concerning sniper in Ohio)"

 

[FizixFreak]

Physics is to Math what Sex is to Masturbation
--Richard Feynman

Does masturbation means what i think it means(مشت زنی)

 

[Char. Limit]

Does masturbation means what i think it means(مشت زنی)

Ahh... think like sex, but you're by yourself.

 

[FizixFreak]

Ahh... think like sex, but you're by yourself.

So its like "helping yourself" looks like i just learned a new word

Well any ways here are some of my favorite quotes some of them are from real life(translated)

"I can't believe it...,you are going to blame me for this"

I usually say that when i fart while i am with my friends.

"whenever i do it...,i hope its the last time"

one of my friends talking about "masturbation"!

"Rule 17..., never turn your back on bears,men you have wronged and dominant turkey during mating season"

From the American hit series "THE OFFICE"

"When my mother was pregnant with me they did an ultrasound and found that she was having twins and when they did another ultrasound a few weeks later they found that i had resorbed the other fetus do i regret this?..., no i believe his tissues made me stronger i now have the strength of a grown man AND a little baby"

Another one from "THE OFFICE".

 

[FtlIsAwesome]

UFOs exist, and there's not a single person who can deny this fact.

Well, what else would you call an Unidentified Flying Object?

[+11 char]

 

[jhae2.718]

Physics is like sex: sure, it may give some practical results, but that's
not why we do it. --Richard Feynman.

 

[petm1]

When in trouble,
When in doubt,
Run in circles,
Scream and Shout!

I have seen this work it was not a pretty sight but effective. One night I stopped for a frantic young lady in the fast lane of a six lane highway. She was running in circles while screaming and waving her arms. Within her circle was a person who had already been hit and then ran over by multiple vehicles. After the victim was loaded into an ambulance for transport to the hospital, I asked her why? Her reply “nothing else would get people to stop”.