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“Heresy is another word for freedom of thought.”
- Graham Greene
“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and reflect).”
- Mark Twain
“It is very nearly impossible to become an educated person in a country so distrustful of the independent mind.”
- James Baldwin
"It's never wise to bet against any of the four horsemen long term. Their historical track record is horrifyingly good."
- Dan Carlin
"The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words."
- Philip K. Dick
"The zeal for revolutionary ideals was accompanied by an underlying fear--it was an age ruled by both the poet and the executioner. The poet scattered roses everywhere, while the executioner cast a long shadow of terror."
- Zhu Xueqin
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"When I was young, I was poor. But after years of hard work, I am no longer young."
- unknown
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"Collective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd."
- Bertrand Russell
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“Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.”
- Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890)
Capt. Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe): "Do you see those two weevils, Doctor?"
Dr. Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany): "I do."
Aubrey: "Which would you choose?"
Maturin: "Neither, there's not a scrap of difference between them, they're the same species of Curculio."
Aubrey: "If you had to choose, if you were forced to make a choice, if there was no other response, which would you...?"
Maturin: "If you're going to push me... I would choose the right-hand weevil, it has significant advantage in both length and breadth."
Aubrey: "There! I have you! You're completely dished! Do you not know that, in the Service, one must always choose the lesser of two weevils?"
- Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
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Capt. Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe): "Do you see those two weevils, Doctor?"
Dr. Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany): "I do."
Aubrey: "Which would you choose?"
Maturin: "Neither, there's not a scrap of difference between them, they're the same species of Curculio."
Aubrey: "If you had to choose, if you were forced to make a choice, if there was no other response, which would you...?"
Maturin: "If you're going to push me... I would choose the right-hand weevil, it has significant advantage in both length and breadth."
Aubrey: "There! I have you! You're completely dished! Do you not know that, in the Service, one must always choose the lesser of two weevils?"
- Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
I saw that movie. I learned far more about early 19th century surgery than i ever wanted to know.
"Hell isn't merely paved with good intentions; it's walled and roofed with them. Yes, and furnished too."
- Aldous Huxley
"There is no reason for you to think that any man has lived long because he has grey hairs or wrinkles; he has not lived long — he has existed long."
- Lucius Annaeus Seneca
"It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness."
- Leo Tolstoy
"There's a reason "rich like an archaeologist" isn't a common rap lyric."
- Shamus Young
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"Shoot for the moon. If you miss, you'll either burn up on reentry or be lost in the vastness of space."
- anonymous
"Many years ago, my brother claimed that he never fell off that barge in Egypt, but I was sure that he was in denial."
- Nikolas "Lindybeige" Lloyd
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A necessary repeat: After the Facebook outage and the usual resulting conspiracy theories, Hanlon's Razor must return:
"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."
"Let's take a moment and look at this picture of Robert Greene. It's called Suted in Deaths Livery, and it's him, at work, while wearing the death shroud that he was buried in. I don't exactly know why that is. Maybe it's because he was still having works published after his death, kind of like Tupac, but... it's just kinda weird. And interesting. And... I love it."
- Max Miller, Tasting History: Apple & Cheese Pie from 1553
"I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed."
- Jonathan Swift
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"This isn’t just a plot that goes “nowhere”. In Mass Effect 1, Shepard said he was going to walk to Mordor. Then in Mass Effect 2 he sawed his own legs off and ate his map. Then just before the closing credits he announces he still needs to get to Mordor. I wish Mass Effect 2 was a plot that went nowhere. That would have been a dramatic improvement."
- Shamus Young, Mass Effect Retrospective
Rich Evans: "Are you trying to Sherlock Holmes this movie?"
Mike Stoklasa" "I am."
Rich Evans: "If you eliminate everything that doesn't make sense, whatever else that's left... that's the plot."
Jay Bauman: "If you get rid of everything that doesn't make sense, there's no movie! We didn't watch anything!"
Rich Evans: "Case solved."
Josh Davis: "Thank god..."
- RedLetterMedia, Best Of The Worst: Episode 105
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“A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.”
― Oscar Wilde
“Cynicism is one of the terrible obstacles to progress.”
― Bryant McGill, Voice of Reason
“Cynicism is not realistic and tough. It's unrealistic and kind of cowardly because it means you don't have to try.”
― Peggy Noonan
“Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us.”
― Stephen Colbert
“Life is not an easy matter…. You cannot live through it without falling into frustration and cynicism unless you have before you a great idea which raises you above personal misery, above weakness, above all kinds of perfidy and baseness.”
― Leon Trotsky, Diary in Exile, 1935
“motivating people, forcing them to your will, gives you a cynical attitude toward humanity. It degrades everything it touches.”
― Frank Herbert
“I fight cynicism. It`s too easy. It`s really boring. It`s much harder to be positive and see the wonder of everything. Cynicism is a bunch of people who aren`t as talented as other people, knocking them because they make them feel even more untalented.”
― Ewan McGregor
“Cynicism, like gullibility, is a symptom of underdeveloped critical faculties.”
― Jamie Whyte, Crimes Against Logic
“Why do we call all our generous ideas illusions, and the mean ones truths?”
― Edith Wharton, The House of Mirth
“Scratch the surface of most cynics and you find a frustrated idealist — someone who made the mistake of converting his ideals into expectations.”
― Peter Senge
“I am a personal optimist but a skeptic about all else. What may sound to some like anger is really nothing more than sympathetic contempt. I view my species with a combination of wonder and pity, and I root for its destruction. And please don't confuse my point of view with cynicism; the real cynics are the ones who tell you everything's gonna be all right.”
― George Carlin
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"[I]f you show up at a publicly-announced protest in a public place in broad daylight dressed like GWAR roadies or extras to a Terry Gilliam movie and start smashing things, one really has to wonder about the sincerity of your commitment to anonymity."
- Matt Taibbi
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“A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.”
― Oscar Wilde“Cynicism is one of the terrible obstacles to progress.”
― Bryant McGill, Voice of Reason“Cynicism is not realistic and tough. It's unrealistic and kind of cowardly because it means you don't have to try.”
― Peggy Noonan...
Is it just me, or do all of these people seem like they're each criticizing something different and labeling it "cynicism?"
"Other dogs bite their enemies, I bite my friends to save them."
- Diogenes of Sinope
I think the Wilde quote is the most spot-on of all of them.