Tim > Tim's Quotes

“A true rationalist ought to be effective in the real world.”
― Eliezer Yudkowsky

“What is true is already so. Owning up to it doesn’t make it worse. Not being open about it doesn’t make it go away. And because it’s true, it is what is there to be interacted with. Anything untrue isn’t there to be lived. People can stand what is true, for they are already enduring it. —Eugene Gendlin”
― Eliezer Yudkowsky, Rationality: From AI to Zombies

“Look, I don't have enough time to turn everyone away from the Dark Side and I've got to ask where the Light can gain the most advantage the fastest -”
― Eliezer Yudkowsky, Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality

“There is no justice in the laws of nature, no term for fairness in the equations of motion. The Universe is neither evil, nor good, it simply does not care. The stars don't care, or the Sun, or the sky.”
― Eliezer Yudkowsky, Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality

“Right. Because he seemed like such a normal kid. And he is a normal kid, he is just what you'd expect a baseline male child to be like if Darth Vader were his doting father.”
― Eliezer Yudkowsky, Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality

“You couldn't leave your home planet while it still contained a place like Azkaban.

You had to stay and fight.”
― Eliezer Yudkowsky, Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality

“You are the captain of your own ship; the more you act from that perspective, the better things will go for you.”
― David Allen, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

“Things rarely get stuck because of lack of time. They get stuck because the doing of them has not been defined.”
― David Allen, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

“There are no problems, only projects.”
― David Allen

“The key to pursuing excellence is to embrace an organic, long-term learning process, and not to live in a shell of static, safe mediocrity. Usually, growth comes at the expense of previous comfort or safety.”
― Josh Waitzkin, The Art of Learning: A Journey in the Pursuit of Excellence

“Growth comes at the point of resistance. We learn by pushing ourselves and finding what really lies at the outer reaches of our abilities.”
― Josh Waitzkin, The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance

“It is rarely a mysterious technique that drives us to the top, but rather a profound mastery of what may well be a basic skill set.”
― Josh Waitzkin, The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance

“The secret is that everything is always on the line. The more present we are at practice, the more present we will be in competition, in the boardroom, at the exam, the operating table, the big stage. If we have any hope of attaining excellence, let alone of showing what we’ve got under pressure, we have to be prepared by a lifestyle of reinforcement. Presence must be like breathing.”
― Josh Waitzkin, The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance

“In the end, mastery involves discovering the most resonant information and integrating it so deeply and fully it disappears and allows us to fly free.”
― Josh Waitzkin, The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance

“Mental resilience is arguably the most critical trait of a world-class performer, and it should be nurtured continuously.”
― Josh Waitzkin, The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance

“When uncomfortable, my instinct is not to avoid the discomfort but to become at peace with it.”
― Josh Waitzkin, The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance

“Great ones are willing to get burned time and again as they sharpen their swords in the fire.”
― Josh Waitzkin, The Art of Learning: A Journey in the Pursuit of Excellence

“Finally, we learn to be completely self-sufficient and create our own earthquakes, so our mental process feeds itself explosive inspirations without the need for outside stimulus.”
― Josh Waitzkin, The Art of Learning: A Journey in the Pursuit of Excellence

“But as with all skills, the most sophisticated techniques tend to have their foundation in the simplest of principles. As”
― Josh Waitzkin, The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance

“It is rarely a mysterious technique that drives us to the top, but rather a profound mastery of what may well be a basic skill set. Depth beats breadth any day of the week, because it opens a channel for the intangible, unconscious, creative components of our hidden potential.”
― Josh Waitzkin, The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance