WIST Quotations

Walker, Alice -- “Beyond the Peacock: The Reconstruction of Flannery O’Connor,” In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens (1983)

Dave — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 16:30:15 +0000

I believe that the truth about any subject only comes when all sides of the story are put together, and all their different meanings make one new one.

Alice Walker (b. 1944) American writer, activist
“Beyond the Peacock: The Reconstruction of Flannery O’Connor,” In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens (1983)
(Source)

Lorde, Audre -- “Learning from the 60s,” speech, Malcolm X weekend, Harvard University (Feb 1982)

Dave — Mon, 14 Dec 2015 15:58:38 +0000

There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle, because we do not lead single-issue lives.

Audre Lorde (1934-1992) American writer, feminist, civil rights activist
“Learning from the 60s,” speech, Malcolm X weekend, Harvard University (Feb 1982)
(Source)

Reprinted in Sister Outsider (1984).

Ackoff, Russell -- “The future of operational research is past,” The Journal of the Operational Research Society, Vol 30 (1979)

Dave — Thu, 26 Mar 2015 12:43:12 +0000

When a mess, which is a system of problems, is taken apart, it loses its essential properties and so does each of its parts. The behavior of a mess depends more on how the treatment of its parts interact than how they act independently of each other. A partial solution to a whole system of problems is better than whole solutions of each of its parts taken separately.

Russell L. Ackoff (1919-2009) American organizational theorist, consultant, management scientist
“The future of operational research is past,” The Journal of the Operational Research Society, Vol 30 (1979)

Huxley, Aldous -- The Island, “Notes on What’s What” (1962)

Dave — Wed, 22 Oct 2014 12:15:32 +0000

‘Patriotism is not enough.’ But neither is anything else. Science is not enough, religion is not enough, art is not enough, politics and economics are not enough, nor is love, nor is duty, nor is action however disinterested, nor, however sublime, is contemplation. Nothing short of everything will really do.

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) English novelist, essayist and critic
The Island, “Notes on What’s What” (1962)

Stewart, Jon -- “No News Is Good News,” interview by Adam Bulger, The Hartford Advocate (2008-06-12)

Dave — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:03:49 +0000

I reject the idea there are just two sides. I think that with the amount of ideas and thoughts there are, it’s not even going to be consistent with the same person. People can hold liberal and conservative dogma points at the same time. They’re not living their lives via platforms. They’re living their lives. The whole thing is an awfully tired construct.

Jon Stewart (b. 1962) American satirist, comedian, and television host. [b. Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz]
“No News Is Good News,” interview by Adam Bulger, The Hartford Advocate (2008-06-12)
(Source)

Whitehead, Alfred North -- Essay (1926-08), “The Education of an Englishman,” Atlantic Monthly

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

We think in generalities, but we live in detail.

Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) English mathematician and philosopher
Essay (1926-08), “The Education of an Englishman,” Atlantic Monthly
(Source)

This is often slightly misquoted as "... but we live in details."