WIST Quotations

Paulos, John Allen -- Innumeracy, ch. 3 “Pseudoscience” (1988)

Dave — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 15:39:04 +0000

Any bit of nonsense can be computerized — astrology, biorhythms, the I Ching — but that doesn’t make the nonsense any more valid.

John Allen Paulos (b. 1945) American mathematician, academic, writer
Innumeracy, ch. 3 “Pseudoscience” (1988)
(Source)

Talmud -- Midrash Rabba, Bereshit 10:6

Dave — Thu, 20 Apr 2017 15:26:46 +0000

Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, “Grow, grow.”

The Talmud (AD 200–500) Collection of Jewish rabbinical writings
Midrash Rabba, Bereshit 10:6

Usually attributed to the Talmud, but actually from a Midrash. Alt. trans.:

"R. Shimon said: There is not a single herb but has a mazal [constellation] in the heavens which strikes it and says, 'Grow!'" [tr. Rabbi Ruth Adar]
"Said Rabbi Simon: 'Every single blade of grass has a corresponding 'mazal' in the sky which hits it and tells it to grow." [Source]

Asimov, Isaac -- Asimov’s Guide to Science (1972)

Dave — Tue, 26 Apr 2016 21:36:10 +0000

Inspect every piece of pseudoscience and you will find a security blanket, a thumb to suck, a skirt to hold. What does the scientist have to offer in exchange? Uncertainty! Insecurity!

Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) Russian-American author, polymath, biochemist
Asimov’s Guide to Science (1972)

Asimov, Isaac -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 13:16:49 +0000

To rebel against a powerful political, economic, religious, or social establishment is very dangerous and very few people do it, except, perhaps, as part of a mob. To rebel against the “scientific” establishment, however, is the easiest thing in the world, and anyone can do it and feel enormously brave, without risking as much as a hangnail. Thus, the vast majority, who believe in astrology and think that the planets have nothing better to do than form a code that will tell them whether tomorrow is a good day to close a business deal or not, become all the more excited and enthusiastic about the bilge when a group of astronomers denounces it.

Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) Russian-American author, polymath, biochemist
(Attributed)

Bierce, Ambrose -- “Responsibility,” The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)

Dave — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 20:46:48 +0000

RESPONSIBILITY, n. A detachable burden easily shifted to the shoulders of God, Fate, Fortune, Luck or one’s neighbor. In the days of astrology it was customary to unload it upon a star.

Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914?) American writer and journalist
“Responsibility,” The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)
(Source)

Originally published in The Devil's Dictionary [A-Z] as Vol. 7 of his Collected Works.

Watterson, Bill -- Calvin and Hobbes (1988-04-09)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

CALVIN: Do you believe our destinies are determined by the stars?

HOBBES: Nah.

CALVIN: Oh, I do.

HOBBES: Really? How come?

CALVIN: Life’s a lot more fun when you’re not responsible for your actions.

Bill Watterson (b. 1958) American cartoonist
Calvin and Hobbes (1988-04-09)
(Source)

Shakespeare, William -- King Lear, Act 1, sc. 2, l. 125ff (1.2.125) (1606)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

EDMUND: This is the excellent foppery of the world, that, when we are sick in fortune, — often the surfeit of our own behavior, — we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars: as if we were villains by necessity; fools by heavenly compulsion; knaves, thieves, and treachers, by spherical predominance; drunkards, liars, and adulterers, by an enforced obedience of planetary influence; and all that we are evil in, by a divine thrusting on: an admirable evasion of whoremaster man, to lay his goatish disposition to the charge of a star!

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) English dramatist and poet
King Lear, Act 1, sc. 2, l. 125ff (1.2.125) (1606)
(Source)