WIST Quotations

Watterson, Bill -- Calvin and Hobbes (1991-03-03)

Dave — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 20:45:32 +0000

CALVIN: Isn’t it strange that evolution would give us a sense of humor? When you think about it, it’s weird that we have a physiological response to absurdity. We laugh at nonsense. We like it. We think it’s funny. Don’t you think it’s odd that we appreciate absurdity? Why would we develop that way? How does it benefit us?

HOBBES: I suppose if we couldn’t laugh at things that don’t make sense, we couldn’t react to a lot of life.

CALVIN: (after a pause) I can’t tell if that’s funny or really scary.

Bill Watterson (b. 1958) American cartoonist
Calvin and Hobbes (1991-03-03)
(Source)

See Dr. Seuss (1983), Ricky Gervais (2013).

Fuller, Thomas (1654) -- Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 2, # 2019 (1727)

Dave — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 16:08:28 +0000

Thou art not bound to believe any one positively against thy Reason, which God hath given thee to be thy Guide.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 2, # 2019 (1727)
(Source)

Straczynski, J. Michael "Joe" -- Babylon 5, 4×02 “Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?” (11 Nov 1996)

Dave — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 15:18:03 +0000

G’KAR: If you’re going to be worried every time the universe doesn’t make sense, you’re going to be worried every moment of every day for the rest of your natural life.

J. Michael (Joe) Straczynski (b. 1954) American screenwriter, producer, author [a/k/a "JMS"]
Babylon 5, 4×02 “Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?” (11 Nov 1996)

Mankiewicz, Joseph -- (Attributed)

Dave — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 00:55:43 +0000

The difference between life and the movies is that a script needs to make sense, and life doesn’t.

Joseph Mankiewicz (1909-1993) American screenwriter, director, producer
(Attributed)

See Twain.