WIST Quotations

Foglio, Phil -- Agatha H and the Voice of the Castle (2014) [with Kaja Foglio]

Dave — Tue, 18 Jan 2022 16:18:41 +0000

Those unfortunate enough to be dragged before one of the old Heterodynes were usually subjected to a version of what we today would call “Good Cop, Bad Cop.” However, considering the personalities involved, a more correct label would be “Bad Cop, Insanely Evil Cop.” This was never a fun experience, especially when both sides were played by different personalities manifesting within the same body — and neither of them were actually playing.

Phil Foglio (b. 1956) American writer, cartoonist
Agatha H and the Voice of the Castle (2014) [with Kaja Foglio]
(Source)

Napoleon Bonaparte -- Letter to Louis Alexandre Berthier (11 Nov 1798), in Correspondence Napoleon, Vol 5, #3605 [ed. Henri Plon (1861)]

Dave — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 19:28:04 +0000

The barbarous custom of having men beaten who are suspected of having important secrets to reveal must be abolished. It has always been recognized that this way of interrogating men, by putting them to torture, produces nothing worthwhile. The poor wretches say anything that comes into their mind and what they think the interrogator wishes to know.

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) French emperor, military leader
Letter to Louis Alexandre Berthier (11 Nov 1798), in Correspondence Napoleon, Vol 5, #3605 [ed. Henri Plon (1861)]
(Source)

Aaronovitch, Ben -- Whispers Under Ground (2012)

Dave — Wed, 30 Dec 2015 17:06:27 +0000

“They’re brothers,” said Zach, and you had to admire him, if only for his persistence. But it didn’t matter, because in an interview a lie can almost be as good as the truth. That’s because all good lies contain as much truth as the liar thinks they can get away with. This truth accumulates, and because it’s easier to remember the truth than something you’ve made up, it remains consistent where the lies do not. All you have to do is keep asking variations on the same questions, until you can sort one from the other. That’s why helping the police with their inquiries can take you all day — if you’re lucky.

Ben Aaronovitch (b. 1964) British author
Whispers Under Ground (2012)

Minear, Tim -- Firefly, 1X03 “Bushwhacked” (27 Sep 2002)

Dave — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 11:59:59 +0000

HARKEN: [In an interrogation room] You fought with Captain Reynolds in the war?
ZOE: Fought with a lot of people in the war.
HARKEN: And your husband?
ZOE: Fight with him sometimes, too.
HARKEN: Is there any particular reason you don’t wish to discuss your marriage?
ZOE: Don’t see that it’s any of your business, is all. We’re very private people.
WASH: [In a different interrogation room] The legs! [Laughs] Oh yeah, definitely have to say it was her legs. You can put that down. Her legs, and right where her legs — meet her back. That — actually, that whole area. That, and — and above it. […] Have you seen what she wears? Forget about it. Have you ever been with a warrior woman?

Tim Minear (b. 1963) American screenwriter and director
Firefly, 1X03 “Bushwhacked” (27 Sep 2002)

Jung, Carl -- Archetypes of the Collective Unconscious (1934) [tr. Hull (1959)]

Dave — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 12:34:56 +0000

To ask the right question is already half the solution of a problem.

Carl Jung (1875–1961) Swiss psychologist
Archetypes of the Collective Unconscious (1934) [tr. Hull (1959)]