Randy > Randy's Quotes

“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“You don’t have a soul, Doctor. You are a soul. You have a body, temporarily.”
― Walter M. Miller Jr., A Canticle for Leibowitz

“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.”
― L.P. Hartley, The Go-Between

“How shall a man judge what to do in such times?'
'As he has ever judged,' said Aragorn. 'Good and ill have not changed since yesteryear; nor are they one thing among Elves and Dwarves and another among Men. It is a man's part to discern them, as much in the Golden Wood as in his own house.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

“How shall a man judge what to do in such times?'
'As he ever has judged,' said Aragorn. 'Good and ill have not changed since yesteryear...It is a man's part to discern them, as much in th Golden Wood as in his own house.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

“It is hard to be sure of anything among so many marvels. The world is all grown strange...How shall a man judge what to do in such times?'
'As he ever has judged,' said Aragorn. 'Good and ill have not changed since yesteryear; nor are they one thing among Elves and Dwarves and another among Men. It is a man's part to discern them, as much in the Golden Wood as in his own house.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

“Eomer said, 'How is a man to judge what to do in such times?'
As he has ever judged,' said Aragorn. 'Good and evil have not changed since yesteryear, nor are they one thing among Elves and another among Men. It is a man's part to discern them, as much in the Golden Wood as in his own house.” The Two Towers”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

“It is hard to be sure of anything among so many marvels. The world is all grown strange. Elf and Dwarf in company walk in our daily fields; and folk speak with the Lady of the Wood and yet live; and the Sword comes back to war that was broken in the long ages ere the fathers of our fathers rode into the Mark! How shall a man judge what to do in such times?’ ‘As he ever has judged,’ said Aragorn. ‘Good and ill have not changed since yesteryear; nor are they one thing among Elves and Dwarves and another among Men. It is a man’s part to discern them, as much in the Golden Wood as in his own house.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

“How shall a man judge what to do in such times?’ ‘As he ever has judged,’ said Aragorn. ‘Good and ill have not changed since yesteryear; nor are they one thing among Elves and Dwarves and another among Men. It is a man’s part to discern them, as much in the Golden Wood as in his own house.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

“Praise from the praise-worthy is beyond all rewards.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

“Jasnah had once defined a fool as a person who ignored information because it disagreed with desired results.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Words of Radiance

“Ignorance is hardly unusual, Miss Davar. The longer I live, the more I come to realize that it is the natural state of the human mind. There are many who will strive to defend its sanctity and then expect you to be impressed with their efforts.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“I believe in rendering to science the things that belong to science. I have no problem with evolution or discussions of the age of the Earth, for I don't believe that we come anywhere near comprehending the mind of God or the workings of the universe. Science can explain a lot, but it cannot give us faith, and I think we need both.”
― Brandon Sanderson

“Science was all about lines, about imposing order on chaos. Navani reveled in her careful preparations, without anyone to tease her for keeping her charts so neat or for refusing to skip any steps.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

“A scholar knows not to waste time rediscovering information already known.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“What is magic but a science not yet discovered?”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England

“Rig,” I declared to him, “I need science.” “You need therapy.” “You need better jokes.” “You need a better sense of humor.” We grinned at each other.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Defiant

“More science happens through lucky accidents than you’d believe, Radiant Lopen,” Rushu said. “It makes me wonder how many amazing innovations we’ve passed up because we were searching for something else, and didn’t realize what we’d done.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Dawnshard

“Even in science," Contemplation said, "faith plays a role. Each experiment done, each step on the path of knowledge, is achieved by striking out into the darkness. You can't know what you will find, or that you will find anything at all. It is faith that drives us - faith in answers that must exist.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Sunlit Man

“That’s the trouble with science. It’s never done. Always upending itself. Ruining perfect systems for the little inconvenience of them being wrong.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

“This is the sort of thing I talk about when I explain to readers the difference between what I perceive as a science fiction writer (someone who tries to realistically extrapolate the future) and a fantasy writer (someone who comes up with an interesting effect to explore, then justifies it with worldbuilding). In the end, both are trying to explore what it means to be human. One starts with what we have, and works forward to reach something interesting, then extrapolates the ramifications. The other starts with the interesting thing, then asks how this could have come about. That’s obviously not a catch-all definition, but it has worked for me as one way to explore the genres.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Snapshot

“Why was it that scientists were so excited to discover facts that farmers had known for generations and generations?”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“Even in science, faith plays a role. Each experiment done, each step on the path of knowledge, is achieved by striking out into the darkness. You can't know what you will find, or that you will find anything at all. It is faith that drives us—faith in answers that must exist.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Sunlit Man

“That's the trouble with science. Always upending itself. Ruining perfect systems for the little inconvenience of them being wrong.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

“You know too much, the Sibling said. It makes me uncomfortable. You know and do things that weren’t possible before. “They were possible, they simply weren’t known,” Navani said. “That is the nature of science.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War

“Shallan shook her head. “It strikes me that religion—in its essence—seeks to take natural events and ascribe supernatural causes to them. I, however, seek to take supernatural events and find the natural meanings behind them. Perhaps that is the final dividing line between science and religion. Opposite sides of a card.” “So”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“We get the word “wizard” itself from the same root as “wisdom.” While modern pop culture has co-opted the term to evoke the image of long beards, pointy hats, and the occasional bescarred boy with a wand, in ancient times it wasn’t so much the magic that identified these individuals. It was knowledge. Yes, this knowledge is often attached to the arcane or unseen in the stories— but what is magic but a science not yet discovered? In the life you now live, you might think yourself unaccomplished, stuck in a rut. You might mourn at how little you’ve accomplished. But in the scope of the history of humankind, you are a god. The knowledge you hold from a simple high school education is vast compared to the comprehensive knowledge of some of the weightiest minds in history. You carry technological marvels that could literally topple kingdoms in your pocket, or perhaps embedded in your own body.”
― Brandon Sanderson

“Reasonable? Your demands are about as reasonable as the ones made of the Ten Heralds on Proving Day! With all due respect, Brightness, you seem to want potential wards to be master scholars already. I may be able to find a pair of eighty-year-old ardents in the city who might fit your requirements. They could interview for the position, though they may have trouble hearing well enough to answer your questions.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“If you took half the energy you devote to being witty and channeled it into your work, I daresay you could be one of the greatest scholars of our age.”
― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

“This isn't just a mystery, it's our heritage.
Dalinar met her eyes and nodded. He had the connection. The pathway. An anchor forged of their own natures, history, and bonds.
"I am in awe, Navani. I didn't realize your scholarly methods could help us understand the ways of the gods."
"Dalinar," she said, "Understanding the ways of god is the primary purpose of science.”
― Brandon Sanderson