James > James's Quotes

“Women are attracted to funny men, it is often said. This is not true. It only appears this way because women laugh at everything a very handsome man says. So this gives the very handsome men the idea that they are funny.”
― Norm Macdonald, Based on a True Story

“I could not ignore their withering glances. They looked at me the way real vampires look at Count Chocula.”
― Norm Macdonald, Based on a True Story

“Whenever you want to cheer yourself up, consider the good qualities of your companions, for example, the energy of one, the modesty of another, the generosity of yet another, and some other quality of another; for nothing cheers the heart as much as the images of excellence reflected in the character of our companions, all brought before us as fully as possible. Therefore, keep these images ready at hand.”
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

“There are no guarantees that flu predictions will do better the next time around. In fact, the flu and other infectious diseases have several properties that make them intrinsically very challenging to predict.”
― Nate Silver, The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail-but Some Don't

“As the statistician George E. P. Box wrote, “All models are wrong, but some models are useful.”90 What he meant by that is that all models are simplifications of the universe, as they must necessarily be. As another mathematician said, “The best model of a cat is a cat.”91”
― Nate Silver, The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail-but Some Don't

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― Nate Silver, The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail-but Some Don't

“The dysfunctional state of the American political system is the best reason to be pessimistic about our country’s future. Our scientific and technological prowess is the best reason to be optimistic. We are an inventive people. The United States produces ridiculous numbers of patents,114 has many of the world’s best universities and research institutions, and our companies lead the market in fields ranging from pharmaceuticals to information technology. If I had a choice between a tournament of ideas and a political cage match, I know which fight I’d rather be engaging in—especially if I thought I had the right forecast.”
― Nate Silver, The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail-but Some Don't

“Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling has a great quote that sums up this concept: “You must accept the reality of other people. You think that reality is up for negotiation, that we think it’s whatever you say it is. You must accept that we are as real as you are; you must accept that you are not God.”
― Chris Voss, Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It

“Racist ideas make people of color think less of themselves, which makes them more vulnerable to racist ideas. Racist ideas make White people think more of themselves, which further attracts them to racist ideas.”
― Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist

“As we’ve seen, the engineers with the lowest productivity are mostly givers. But when we look at the engineers with the highest productivity, the evidence shows that they’re givers too. The California engineers with the best objective scores for quantity and quality of results are those who consistently give more to their colleagues than they get. The worst performers and the best performers are givers; takers and matchers are more likely to land in the middle.”
― Adam M. Grant, Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success

“But surprisingly, people were significantly more likely to benefit from weak ties. Almost 28 percent heard about the job from a weak tie. Strong ties provide bonds, but weak ties serve as bridges: they provide more efficient access to new information. Our strong ties tend to travel in the same social circles and know about the same opportunities as we do. Weak ties are more likely to open up access to a different network, facilitating the discovery of original leads.”
― Adam M. Grant, Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success

“Thirty years ago, the sociologist Fred Goldner wrote about what it means to experience the opposite of paranoia: pronoia. According to the distinguished psychologist Brian Little, pronoia is “the delusional belief that other people are plotting your well-being, or saying nice things about you behind your back.”
― Adam M. Grant, Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success

“Givers reject the notion that interdependence is weak. Givers are more likely to see interdependence as a source of strength, a way to harness the skills of multiple people for a greater good.”
― Adam M. Grant, Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success

“Other studies show that people actually make more accurate and creative decisions when they’re choosing on behalf of others than themselves.”
― Adam M. Grant, Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success

“Whether you’re nice or not nice is separate from whether you’re self-focused or other-focused. They’re independent, not opposites.”
― Adam M. Grant, Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success

“Studies led by Columbia psychologist Adam Galinsky show that when we empathize at the bargaining table, focusing on our counterparts’ emotions and feelings puts us at risk of giving away too much.* But when we engage in perspective taking, considering our counterparts’ thoughts and interests, we’re more likely to find ways to make deals that satisfy our counterparts without sacrificing our own interests.”
― Adam M. Grant, Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success