WIST Quotations

Taleb, Nassim Nicholas -- The Black Swan, Part 2, ch. 10 “The Scandal of Prediction” (2007)

Dave — Mon, 09 Jun 2025 15:23:09 +0000

Forecasting by bureaucrats tends to be used for anxiety relief rather than for adequate policy making.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb (b. 1960) Lebanese-American essayist, statistician, risk analyst, aphorist
The Black Swan, Part 2, ch. 10 “The Scandal of Prediction” (2007)
(Source)

Taylor, Barbara Brown -- Learning to Walk in the Dark, ch. 4 (2014)

Dave — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 17:34:16 +0000

The only real difference between Anxiety and Excitement was my willingness to let go of Fear.

Barbara Brown Taylor (b. 1951) American minister, academic, author
Learning to Walk in the Dark, ch. 4 (2014)
(Source)

McLaughlin, Mignon -- The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 4 (1963)

Dave — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 17:17:43 +0000

The neurotic circles ceaselessly above a fogged-in airport.

Mignon McLaughlin (1913-1983) American journalist and author
The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 4 (1963)
(Source)

Forster, E. M. -- “The Tercentenary of the Areopagitica,” Two Cheers for Democracy (1951)

Dave — Wed, 18 Mar 2020 21:48:06 +0000

We are willing enough to praise freedom when she is safely tucked away in the past and cannot be a nuisance. In the present, amidst dangers whose outcome we cannot foresee, we get nervous about her, and admit censorship.

E. M. Forster (1879-1970) English novelist, essayist, critic, librettist [Edward Morgan Forster]
“The Tercentenary of the Areopagitica,” Two Cheers for Democracy (1951)
(Source)

Adams, John -- Letter (1776-07-03) to Abigail Adams

Dave — Thu, 29 Sep 2016 03:08:11 +0000

But I must submit all my Hopes and Fears, to an overruling Providence, in which, unfashionable as the Faith may be, I firmly believe.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1776-07-03) to Abigail Adams
(Source)

On the approval of the resolution for Independence, approved the day before, and his worries over the the future held for the new United States.

Fields, W. C. -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 20:09:37 +0000

Happiness means quiet nerves.

W. C. Fields (1880-1946) American entertainer [b. William Claude Dukenfield]
(Attributed)

Quoted in Robert Lewis Taylor, W.C. Fields, His Follies and Fortunes (1949).

Spurgeon, Charles -- The Salt-Cellars (1889)

Dave — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 18:18:04 +0000

It is said that our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.

Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) British Baptist preacher, author [Charles Haddon (C.H.) Spurgeon]
The Salt-Cellars (1889)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 5 “Fatigue” (1930)

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

One of the symptoms of approaching nervous break-down is the belief that one’s work is terribly important, and that to take a holiday would bring all kinds of disaster.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 5 “Fatigue” (1930)
(Source)

Inge, William Ralph -- Sermon (1932-02-09), St. Paul’s Cathedral, London

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

Worry is interest paid on trouble before it falls due.

William Ralph Inge (1860-1954) English prelate [Dean Inge]
Sermon (1932-02-09), St. Paul’s Cathedral, London
(Source)

As reported in The Shields Daily News, "Far and Near: Dean Inge on Worry," Northumberland, England (1932-02-10). In context:

Christ condemned worry as a sin -- perhaps He was the first to do so. And what good advice this was! "I have had many troubles," said someone, looking back on his life. "Most of them never happened." Worry is interest paid on trouble before it falls due.

Though Inge employed the phrase, it was in wide use already, having been crafted in 1905 by H. A. Thompson. See more here: Quote Origin: Worry Is Like Paying Interest On a Debt You Don’t Owe – Quote Investigator®.