WIST Quotations

Asimov, Isaac -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:45:31 +0000

Maybe happiness is this: not feeling like you should be elsewhere, doing something else, being someone else.

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

Adams, Douglas -- Broadcast (2010-10-11), Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Future, ep. 2, “Publishing,” BBC Radio 4

Dave — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 13:52:28 +0000

It’s important to remember that the relationship between different media tends to be complementary. When new media arrive they don’t necessarily replace or eradicate previous types. Though we should perhaps observe a half second silence for the eight-track — there that’s done. What usually happens is that older media have to shuffle about a bit to make space for the new one and its particular advantages. Radio did not kill books and television did not kill radio or movies — what television did kill was the cinema newsreel.

Douglas Adams (1952–2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Broadcast (2010-10-11), Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Future, ep. 2, “Publishing,” BBC Radio 4
(Source)

This was a four-episode panel discussion, led by Adams, on the future of media. Adams died shortly after the final episode aired. The archived BBC Radio 4 website for the show is still online, but (ironically) requires RealPlayer.

Leopold, Aldo -- Round River, “Conservation” (1953)

Dave — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 11:04:09 +0000

The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant, “What good is it?” If the land mechanism as a whole is good, then every part is good, whether we understand it or not. If the biota, in the course of aeons, has built something we like but do not understand, then who but a fool would discard seemingly useless parts? To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.

Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) American conservationist, forester, ecologist
Round River, “Conservation” (1953)
(Source)