Ryan > Ryan's Quotes

“I sometimes wish that people would put a little more emphasis on the observance of the law than they do upon its enforcement.”
― Calvin Coolidge

“I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinion of himself than on the opinion of others.”
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

“If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free: if our wealth commands us, we are poor indeed.”
― Edmund Burke, The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 05

“Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.”
― G.K. Chesterton

“Bascal laughed. "You can't actually believe that, boyo. When was the last no-confidence vote in the Senate? The people of Earth were tired of responsibility; they forced it on my parents, and wouldn't take it back now even if they could.”
― Wil McCarthy, The Wellstone

“It is far easier to concentrate power than to concentrate knowledge. That is why so much social engineering backfires and why so many despots have led their countries into disasters.”
― Thomas Sowell, Intellectuals and Society

“You raise your voice when you should reinforce your argument.”
― Samuel Johnson

“[D]idn't Aristarchus and the Pythagoreans propose heliocentrism in ancient times? If only they had prevailed, we might have had Real Science millennia sooner. What was their evidence?

Well, you see, fire is nobler than earth and the center is a nobler position. So fire has to be in the center. QED.

There are many names for this sort of thinking, but "scientific" is not one of them.”
― Michael Flynn

“The beauty of doing nothing is that you can do it perfectly. Only when you do something is it almost impossible to do it without mistakes. Therefore people who are contributing nothing to society, except their constant criticisms, can feel both intellectually and morally superior.”
― Thomas Sowell

“The feeling that the government should “do something” has seldom been based on a comparison of what actually happens when government does and when it does not “do something.”
― Thomas Sowell, Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One

“They're trying to breed a nation of techno-peasants. Educated just enough to keep things going, but not enough to ask tough questions. They encourage any meme that downplays thoughtful analysis or encourages docility or self indulgence or uniformity. In what other society do people use "smart" and "wise" as insults? We tell people "don't get smart." Those who try, those who really like to learn, we call "nerds." Look at television or the press or the trivia that passes for political debate. When a candidate DOES try to talk about the issues, the newspapers talk about his sex life. Look at Saturday morning cartoon shows. Peasants, whether they're tilling fields or stuffing circuit boards, are easier to manipulate. Don't question; just believe. Turn off your computer and Trust the Force.

Or turn your computer on and treat it like the Oracle of Delphi.

That's right. They've made education superficial and specialized. Science classes for art majors? Forget it! And how many business or engineering students get a really good grounding in the humanities? When did universities become little more than white collar vocational schools?”
― Michael Flynn, In the Country of the Blind

“They agree with the current customs. They consent with an impure age. Their principles have a semblance of right-heartedness and truth. Their conduct has a semblance of disinterestedness and purity. All men are pleased with them, and they think themselves right, but you cannot enter into the Way of Yao and Shun with them. For this reason they are called “The thieves of virtue.”
― Mencius

“Much of the social history of the Western world over the past three decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good.”
― Thomas Sowell

“I would rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned.”
― Richard Feynman

“Maybe that's the way of things, too. That the more beautiful a thing is, the shorter it seems to last. People no less than flowers.”
― Charles E. Gannon, This Broken World

“Most writers regard the truth as their most valuable possession, and therefore are economical in its use.”
― Mark Twain

“If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.”
― Orson Welles