The Enigma Cube Quotes

“To every man upon this Earth, death cometh soon or late. And how can man die better, than facing fearful odds. For the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his gods.” —Thomas Babington Macaulay, Horatius at the Bridge”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“Things have improved dramatically, but we still have a ways to go. And never underestimate the ability of human beings to take things for granted, and find ways to be miserable. The truth is, even though we live in the best of times, most of us believe the opposite. That poverty, and literacy, and so on have gotten worse, even though they’ve gotten considerably better. This is actually a fairly recent phenomenon. Just in the last thirty years or so.”
“Why would that be?” asked Otto.
Boyd frowned. “Turns out that in our day we’re drowning in news,” he explained. “Every second, every day, a weight of news that is almost inconceivable. And those providing this news know that only the most dramatic will stand out. So we’re told the sky is falling a hundred times a day. And rather than discuss how far we’ve come, the dire problems we thought our way out of, we amplify every problem, every behavior that is less than perfect, into crisis proportions. Pessimism sells far better than optimism.”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“A woman needs to have a number of qualities for me to really fall for her. She has to be bright. Being brilliant, like you, is a bonus. She has to have a great sense of humor—like yours. And finally—even though I sound like I’m reading from a Kelly Connolly resume—she has to be independent. Fiercely independent.”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“Anyway, Hitler believed that the bigger the lie, the more audacious, the more likely it was to be believed. Because who’d imagine someone would have the nerve to spread such a colossal lie? And the more such a lie was repeated, the more likely it would be accepted as truth.” Kelly paused. “But I need to stop talking now and let you think.”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“Socially,” continued Kelly, “the world has become ever more tolerant, with all races, religions, and sexual preferences not only accepted by most, but even celebrated. Yes, there is still bigotry and persecution in the world, but compared to the level seen in the time period we’re in now, it’s microscopic.” Boyd chimed in, describing such advances as supersonic jets, microwave ovens, and Moon and Mars missions, completed by rocket ships capable of returning from space and setting back down gently on a landing pad, like something out of an early science fiction novel. “Absolutely amazing,” said Otto in awe when they were done, having soaked it all in like a superintelligent sponge. “You”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“them in. It’s also about the amount of pressure you apply. The controls are exquisitely sensitive.” “What controls?” snapped Wu. “What hieroglyphs?” “I’ll show you. But I want your assurances that you won’t hurt either one of us. If I live up to my end, you have to treat us well from here on out. I get that you won’t let us go, but let us live together in peace. Find a prison that gives us privacy and feels like house arrest. Remember, you never”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“swaths of humanity. That just below the surface of human kindness was a seething pool of unfathomable ruthlessness and cruelty, unequaled in the animal kingdom.”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“THE ENIGMA CUBE Douglas E. Richards”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“Fairy tales do not tell children that monsters exist. Children already know that monsters exist. Fairy tales tell children that monsters can be killed.” —G.K. Chesterton, (English writer and philosopher)”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“And, most importantly, not being afraid to be bold or outrageous.” “This last technique was formalized by Hitler himself,” said Kelly. “Although you’re using it for good, not evil,” she hastened to add. “In his book, Mein Kampf, he coined the term große Lüge, which means Big Lie.” “I thought you didn’t speak German.” “I don’t. But since finding my grandfather’s journal, I’ve done a little research on the period. Anyway, Hitler believed that the bigger the lie, the more audacious, the more likely it was to be believed. Because who’d imagine someone would have the nerve to spread such a colossal lie? And the more such a lie was repeated, the more likely it would be accepted as truth.”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“When it comes to the existence of UFOs, we’ve reached a tipping point. The burden of proof used to be on the believers to prove that UFOs are real. Now the burden of proof has shifted to the government and military to prove that they’re not real. Because the evidence is overwhelming.” —Michio Kaku, professor of theoretical physics, City College of New York”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“In 1945, the Russians had laid siege to Berlin, and Hitler had been found dead inside an underground command center at his Berlin headquarters, having taken his own life.”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“Boyd frowned. “Turns out that in our day we’re drowning in news,” he explained. “Every second, every day, a weight of news that is almost inconceivable. And those providing this news know that only the most dramatic will stand out. So we’re told the sky is falling a hundred times a day. And rather than discuss how far we’ve come, the dire problems we thought our way out of, we amplify every problem, every behavior that is less than perfect, into crisis proportions. Pessimism sells far better than optimism.”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” said Boyd. “So is the road to heaven,” she countered. “Which road we might be on is in the eye of the beholder.”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“What’s even more horrific than his existence,” he added in disgust, “is that we in Germany let him come to power. Many of us were dead set against it, but not enough. The majority stood by and let him commit his atrocities.”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“And while humanity is still barbaric in many ways, we’ve come a long way since Nazi Germany.”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“The Rational Optimist: How”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World—and Why Things Are Better Than You Think, by Hans Rosling.”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“She was pacifistic and empathetic by nature, but she was also a survivor, and her spirit and sense of fight were climbing back off the mat, with a vengeance, right before his eyes.”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“thrust out their right arms”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“Hitler and Himmler were nothing if not masters of imagery, symbolism, and propaganda, and Himmler’s acquisition of the renaissance castle in 1934 was inspired in the Nazi Party’s sick and twisted way. Whatever the case, it was well known that Himmler adored the castle, intending for it to serve as the central site for the cult of the SS. Rumor had it that he dreamed it would one day become “The Center of the World” in the Nazi SS religion.”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“their very ferocity, their audacity, had the opposite effect,”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“Worse, the Nazis turned the blitzkrieg soldiers into an army of supermen, plying them liberally with crystal meth—speed—in pill form, shipping thirty-five million tablets to their three million troops. This drug allowed soldiers to advance for days without sleep, dulled their sense of empathy, made them feel euphoric and invincible, and turned them into aggressive, reckless killing machines.”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“Otto Richter scribbled equations into a notebook at a furious pace, as if he were possessed by a berserker demon. He was in hot pursuit of a sudden inspiration—that superfluidity could be used to model exotic matter, which in turn could lead”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“Eeny.”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“I carry out orders given by the first being who activates me,” responded the AI, its directed thoughts now coming at her more quickly, displaying the urgency she had called for. “Provided I deem the being worthy, well-intentioned. A being who ultimately wants to use the power of the cube for constructive, rather than destructive, purposes.”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“Thomas Babington Macaulay, Horatius at the Bridge”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“Thomas Babington Macaulay,”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“Turns out that in our day we’re drowning in news,” he explained. “Every second, every day, a weight of news that is almost inconceivable. And those providing this news know that only the most dramatic will stand out. So we’re told the sky is falling a hundred times a day. And rather than discuss how far we’ve come, the dire problems we thought our way out of, we amplify every problem, every behavior that is less than perfect, into crisis proportions. Pessimism sells far better than optimism.”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube

“gruppenfuhrer, the equivalent of a major general,”
― Douglas E. Richards, The Enigma Cube