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		<title>Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Lecture (1884-01-20), &#8220;Orthodoxy,&#8221; Tabor Opera House, Denver, Colorado</title>
		<link>https://wist.info/ingersoll-robert-green/82093/</link>
		<comments>https://wist.info/ingersoll-robert-green/82093/#respond</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Feb 2026 23:51:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[In his infinite goodness, God invented rheumatism and gout and dyspepsia, cancers and neuralgia, and is still inventing new diseases. Not only this, but he decreed the pangs of mothers, and that by the gates of love and life should crouch the dragons of death and pain. Fearing that some might, by accident, live too [&#8230;]]]></description>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In his infinite goodness, God invented rheumatism and gout and dyspepsia, cancers and neuralgia, and is still inventing new diseases. Not only this, but he decreed the pangs of mothers, and that by the gates of love and life should crouch the dragons of death and pain. Fearing that some might, by accident, live too long, he planted poisonous vines and herbs that looked like food. He caught the serpents he had made and gave them fangs and curious organs, ingeniously devised to distill and deposit the deadly drop. He changed the nature of the beasts, that they might feed on human flesh. He cursed a world, and tainted every spring and source of joy. He poisoned every breath of air; corrupted even light, that it might bear disease on every ray; tainted every drop of blood in human veins; touched every nerve, that it might bear the double fruit of pain and joy; decreed all accidents and mistakes that maim and hurt and kill, and set the snares of life-long grief, baited with present pleasure, &#8212; with a moment&#8217;s joy. Then and there he foreknew and foreordained all human tears. And yet all this is but the prelude, the introduction, to the infinite revenge of the good God. Increase and multiply all human griefs until the mind has reached imagination&#8217;s farthest verge, then add eternity to time, and you may faintly tell, but never can conceive, the infinite horrors of this doctrine called &#8220;The Fall of Man.&#8221; </p>
<br><b>Robert Green Ingersoll</b> (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator<br>Lecture (1884-01-20), &#8220;Orthodoxy,&#8221; Tabor Opera House, Denver, Colorado 
									<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(<a href="https://gutenberg.org/cache/epub/38813/pg38813-images.html#Blink0004:~:text=In%20his%20infinite,Fall%20of%20Man.%22" target="_blank">Source</a>)
										<br><br><span class="cite">
						

<a href="https://archive.org/details/orthodoxylecture00inge/page/18/mode/2up?q=%22God+invented+rheumatism%22">Published as its own book</a> in 1884.



						</span>
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		<title>Rickover, Hyman -- Speech (1954-03-16), “Administering a Large Military Development Project,” US Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California</title>
		<link>https://wist.info/rickover-hyman/81651/</link>
		<comments>https://wist.info/rickover-hyman/81651/#respond</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 26 Jan 2026 05:08:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[Unfortunately, in real life there are no exact or final answers. In a job which must go ahead at a rapid pace we cannot withhold judgment &#8220;until all the facts are in.&#8221; Rarely is all the evidence at hand. Decisions must be made, and action taken, before complete knowledge can be acquired.]]></description>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Unfortunately, in real life there are no exact or final answers. In a job which must go ahead at a rapid pace we cannot withhold judgment &#8220;until all the facts are in.&#8221;  Rarely is all the evidence at hand. Decisions must be made, and action taken, before complete knowledge can be acquired.</p>
<br><b>Hyman Rickover</b> (1900-1986) Polish-American naval engineer, admiral [b. Chaim Gdala Rykower]<br>Speech (1954-03-16), “Administering a Large Military Development Project,” US Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California 
									<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(<a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Economics_of_Defense_Policy/r75FAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=RA1-PA439&printsec=frontcover" target="_blank">Source</a>)
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		<title>Bible, Vol. 2. New Testament -- Book  1. Gospel of Matthew  6: 7ff (Matt 6:7–8) (Jesus) [NJB (1985)]</title>
		<link>https://wist.info/bible-nt/75800/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 25 Mar 2025 17:53:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Bible, Vol. 2. New Testament]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[In your prayers do not babble as the gentiles do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard. Do not be like them; your Father knows what you need before you ask him. [Προσευχόμενοι δὲ μὴ βατταλογήσητε ὥσπερ οἱ ἐθνικοί, δοκοῦσιν γὰρ ὅτι ἐν τῇ πολυλογίᾳ αὐτῶν εἰσακουσθήσονται. μὴ οὖν [&#8230;]]]></description>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In your prayers do not babble as the gentiles do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard. Do not be like them; your Father knows what you need before you ask him.</p>
<p>[Προσευχόμενοι δὲ μὴ βατταλογήσητε ὥσπερ οἱ ἐθνικοί, δοκοῦσιν γὰρ ὅτι ἐν τῇ πολυλογίᾳ αὐτῶν εἰσακουσθήσονται. μὴ οὖν ὁμοιωθῆτε αὐτοῖς· οἶδεν γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὧν χρείαν ἔχετε πρὸ τοῦ ὑμᾶς αἰτῆσαι αὐτόν.]</p>
<br><b>The Bible (The New Testament)</b> (AD 1st - 2nd C) Christian sacred scripture<br>Book  1. <i>Gospel of Matthew</i>  6: 7ff (Matt 6:7–8) (Jesus) [NJB (1985)] 
									<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(<a href="https://www.bibliacatolica.com.br/en/new-jerusalem-bible/matthew/6/#:~:text=In%20your%20prayers,you%20ask%20him." target="_blank">Source</a>)
										<br><br><span class="cite">
						

No Synoptic parallels.<br><br>

(<a href="https://tips.translation.bible/tip_verse/matt-67/">Source (Greek)</a>). Alternate translations:<br><br>

<blockquote>But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.<br>
[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%206%3A7-8&version=AKJV#:~:text=But%20when%20ye%20pray%2C%20use%20not%20vain%20repetitions%2C%20as%20the%20heathen%20do%3A%20for%20they%20think%20that%20they%20shall%20be%20heard%20for%20their%20much%20speaking.%208%C2%A0Be%20not%20ye%20therefore%20like%20unto%20them%3A%20for%20your%20Father%20knoweth%20what%20things%20ye%20have%20need%20of%2C%20before%20ye%20ask%20him.">KJV</a> (1611)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>In your prayers do not babble as the pagans do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard. Do not be like them; your Father knows what you need before you ask him.<br>
[<a href="https://www.seraphim.my/bible/jb/JB-NT01%20MATTHEW.htm#:~:text=In%20your%20prayers,you%20ask%20him.">JB</a> (1966)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>When you pray, do not use a lot of meaningless words, as the pagans do, who think that their gods will hear them because their prayers are long. Do not be like them. Your Father already knows what you need before you ask him.<br>
[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%206%3A7-8&version=GNT">GNT</a> (1976)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>When you pray, don’t pour out a flood of empty words, as the Gentiles do. They think that by saying many words they’ll be heard. Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask.<br>
[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%206%3A7-8&version=CEB">CEB</a> (2011)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.<br>
[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%206%3A7-8&version=NRSVUE">NRSV</a> (2021 ed.)]</blockquote><br>						</span>
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                <!-- DCH Modify the title to give the category (quote author) at the beginning of it. -->
		<title>Omar Khayyam -- Rubáiyát [رباعیات] [tr. Whinfield (1882), # 204]</title>
		<link>https://wist.info/omar-khayyam/72212/</link>
		<comments>https://wist.info/omar-khayyam/72212/#respond</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Sep 2024 16:14:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Omar Khayyam]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[Blame not this ball, impelled by bat&#8217;s hard blows, That now to right and now to left it goes, That One who wields the bat and smites the strokes He knows what drives thee, yea He knows, He knows. This metaphor of life as a polo game appears in some translations of the Rubaiyat (particularly [&#8230;]]]></description>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Blame not this ball, impelled by bat&#8217;s hard blows,<br />
That now to right and now to left it goes,<br />
<span class="tab">That One who wields the bat and smites the strokes<br />
He knows what drives thee, yea He knows, He knows.</span></p>
<br><b>Omar Khayyám </b> (1048-1123) Persian poet, mathematician, philosopher, astronomer [عمر خیام]<br><i>Rubáiyát</i> [رباعیات] [tr. Whinfield (1882), # 204] 
									<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(<a href="https://archive.org/details/rubaiyatofomarkh01omar/page/136/mode/2up?q=%22Blame+not+this+ball%22" target="_blank">Source</a>)
										<br><br><span class="cite">
						

This metaphor of life as a polo game appears in some translations of the Rubaiyat (particularly FitzGerald), but not in the Bodleian manuscript.<br><br>

Alternate translations:<br><br>

<blockquote>The Ball no Question makes of Ayes and Noes,<br>
But Right or Left as strikes the Player goes;<br>
<span class="tab">And He that toss'd Thee down into the Field,<br>
He knows about it all -- He knows -- HE knows!<br>
[tr. <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Rubaiyat_of_Omar_Khayyam_(tr._Fitzgerald,_1st_edition)/The_Rubaiyat_of_Omar_Khayyam#:~:text=The%20Ball%20no,knows%E2%80%94HE%20knows!">FitzGerald</a>, 1st ed. (1859), # 50]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>The Ball no Question makes of Ayes and Noes,<br>
But Right or Left as strikes the Player goes;<br>
<span class="tab">And He that toss'd you down into the Field,<br>
He knows about it all -- HE knows -- HE knows!<br>
[tr. <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Rubaiyat_of_Omar_Khayyam_(tr._Fitzgerald,_2nd_edition)#:~:text=The%20Ball%20no%20Question%20makes%20of%20Ayes%20and%20Noes%2C%0ABut%20Right%20or%20Left%20as%20strikes%20the%20Player%20goes%3B%0AAnd%20He%20that%20toss%27d%20you%20down%20into%20the%20Field%2C%0AHe%20knows%20about%20it%20all%2D%2DHE%20knows%2D%2DHE%20knows!">FitzGerald, 2nd ed.</a> (1868), # 75; <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Rubaiyat_of_Omar_Khayyam_(tr._Fitzgerald,_3rd_edition)#:~:text=The%20Ball%20no%20question%20makes%20of%20Ayes%20and%20Noes%2C%0ABut%20Right%20or%20Left%20as%20strikes%20the%20Player%20goes%3B%0AAnd%20He%20that%20toss%27d%20you%20down%20into%20the%20Field%2C%0AHe%20knows%20about%20it%20all%2D%2DHE%20knows%2D%2DHE%20knows!">3rd ed.</a> (1872), <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Rubaiyat_of_Omar_Khayyam_(tr._Fitzgerald,_4th_edition)#:~:text=The%20Ball%20no%20question%20makes%20of%20Ayes%20and%20Noes%2C%0A%C2%A0But%20Here%20or%20There%20as%20strikes%20the%20Player%20goes%3B%0A%C2%A0%C2%A0%C2%A0And%20He%20that%20toss%27d%20you%20down%20into%20the%20Field%2C%0A%C2%A0He%20knows%20about%20it%20all%2D%2DHE%20knows%2D%2DHE%20knows!">4th ed.</a> (1879), <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Rubaiyat_of_Omar_Khayyam_(tr._Fitzgerald,_5th_edition)#:~:text=%C2%A0The%20Ball%20no%20question%20makes%20of%20Ayes%20and%20Noes%2C%0A%C2%A0But%20Here%20or%20There%20as%20strikes%20the%20Player%20goes%3B%0A%C2%A0%C2%A0%C2%A0And%20He%20that%20toss%27d%20you%20down%20into%20the%20Field%2C%0A%C2%A0He%20knows%20about%20it%20all%2D%2DHE%20knows%2D%2DHE%20knows!">5th ed.</a> (1889 ed.), # 70]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Man, like a ball, hither and thither goes,<br>
As fate's resistless bat directs the blows;<br>
<span class="tab">But He, who gives thee up to this rude sport,<br>
He knows what drives thee, yea, He knows, He knows!<br>
[tr. <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Quatrains_of_Omar_Khayyam_(tr._Whinfield,_1883)/Quatrains_401-500#:~:text=Man%2C%20like%20a%20ball%2C%20hither%20and%20thither%20goes%2C%0AAs%20fate%27s%20resistless%20bat%20directs%20the%20blows%3B%0A%C2%A0%C2%A0%C2%A0%C2%A0But%20He%2C%20who%20gives%20thee%20up%20to%20this%20rude%20sport%2C%0AHe%20knows%20what%20drives%20thee%2C%20yea%2C%20He%20knows%2C%20He%20knows!">Whinfield</a> (1883), # 401]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Oh thou who art driven like a ball, by the bat of<br>
Fate, go to the right or left -- drink wine and say<br>
<span class="tab">nothing, for that One who flung thee into the <i>run<br>
and search</i> (mêlée) he knows, he knows, he knows, he -- .<br>
[tr. <a href="https://archive.org/details/rubaiyatofomarkh01omar/page/136/mode/2up?q=%22Oh+thou+who+art+driven%22">Garner</a> (1895 ms)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>O thou who art gone to the club of fate like a ball!<br>
Go to the left and to the right; but say nothing;<br>
<span class="tab">For He that threw thee down amidst the galloping,<br>
He knows, and He knows, and He knows, and He --<br>
[tr. <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Omar_Khayy%C3%A1m/YkMiEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22o%20thou%20who%20art%20gone%22">Rodwell</a> (1931) # 50/70]</blockquote><br>



<blockquote>Poor ball, struck by Fate's heavy polo-mallet,<br>
Running whichever way it drives you, numbed<br>
Of sense, though He who set you on your course,<br>
He knows, He knows, He knows.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://archive.org/details/originalrubaiyya00omar/page/66/mode/2up?q=%2274+poor+ball%22">Graves & Ali-Shah</a> (1967), # 74]</blockquote><br>

  


<blockquote>Whirling like a ball before the mallet of Fate, go running to right and left, and say nothing; for he that hurled thee into the chase, He knows, and He knows, and He knows!<br>
[tr. <a href="https://archive.org/details/isbn_0856680389/page/86/mode/2up?q=%22whirling+like%22">Bowen</a> (1976), # 43]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Do not despair because to left and right<br>
Fate drives you onward with his ballet-blows,<br>
<span class="tab">For He who flung you out into the fray,<br>
He knows the game's technique -- He knows, He knows.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://archive.org/details/isbn_0856680389/page/86/mode/2up?q=%22fate+drives+you+onward+%22">Bowen</a> (1976), # 43]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>In the cosmic game of polo you are the ball<br>
The mallet’s left and right becomes your call<br>
<span class="tab">He who causes your movements, your rise and fall<br>
He is the one, the only one, who knows it all.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://www.okonlife.com/poems/page5.htm#:~:text=In%20the%20cosmic%20game%20of%20polo%20you%20are%20the%20ball%0AThe%20mallet%E2%80%99s%20left%20and%20right%20becomes%20your%20call%0AHe%20who%20causes%20your%20movements%2C%20your%20rise%20and%20fall%0AHe%20is%20the%20one%2C%20the%20only%20one%2C%20who%20knows%20it%20all.">Shahriari</a> (1998), literal]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>In the cosmic there is a flow<br>
To which you must submit and bow<br>
And though you act in this show<br>
And seem to move to and fro<br>
The plot you’ll never get to know<br>
The only way you get to grow<br>
Align yourself with this flow.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://www.okonlife.com/poems/page5.htm#:~:text=In%20the%20cosmic%20there%20is%20a%20flow%0ATo%20which%20you%20must%20submit%20and%20bow%0AAnd%20though%20you%20act%20in%20this%20show%0AAnd%20seem%20to%20move%20to%20and%20fro%0AThe%20plot%20you%E2%80%99ll%20never%20get%20to%20know%0AThe%20only%20way%20you%20get%20to%20grow%0AAlign%20yourself%20with%20this%20flow.">Shahriari</a> (1998), figurative]</blockquote><br>						</span>
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		<title>Russell, Bertrand -- &#8220;Is There a God?&#8221; (1952)</title>
		<link>https://wist.info/russell-bertrand/68638/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Apr 2024 16:38:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Russell, Bertrand]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[creation]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[It has been one of the defects of theologians at all times to over-estimate the importance of our planet. No doubt this was natural enough in the days before Copernicus when it was thought that the heavens revolve about the earth. But since Copernicus and still more since the modern exploration of distant regions, this [&#8230;]]]></description>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It has been one of the defects of theologians at all times to over-estimate the importance of our planet. No doubt this was natural enough in the days before Copernicus when it was thought that the heavens revolve about the earth. But since Copernicus and still more since the modern exploration of distant regions, this pre-occupation with the earth has become rather parochial. If the universe had a Creator, it is hardly reasonable to suppose that He was specially interested in our little corner. And, if He was not, His values must have been different from ours, since in the immense majority of regions life is impossible.</p>
<br><b>Bertrand Russell</b> (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher<br>&#8220;Is There a God?&#8221; (1952) 
									<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(<a href="https://www.personal.kent.edu/~rmuhamma/Philosophy/RBwritings/isThereGod.htm#:~:text=It%20has%20been,life%20is%20impossible." target="_blank">Source</a>)
										<br><br><span class="cite">
						

Essay commissioned by <i>Illustrated</i> magazine in 1952, but never published there. First publication in Russell, <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Last_Philosophical_Testament/r1jBN5iehKsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22is%20there%20a%20god%201952%20this%20paper%22%22"><i>Last Philosophical Testament, 1943-68</i></a> (1997) [ed. Slater/Köllner].						</span>
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		<title>Fry, Stephen -- Room 101,  6&#215;10, BBC Two (2001-03-12)</title>
		<link>https://wist.info/fry-stephen/61833/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 12 Jul 2023 23:29:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fry, Stephen]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[You will hear things like, &#8220;Science doesn&#8217;t know everything.&#8221; Well, of course science doesn&#8217;t know everything. But because science doesn&#8217;t know everything, that doesn&#8217;t mean science knows nothing. Science knows enough for us to be watched by a few million people now on television, for these lights to be working, for quite extraordinary miracles to [&#8230;]]]></description>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>You will hear things like, &#8220;Science doesn&#8217;t know everything.&#8221; Well, of course science doesn&#8217;t know everything. But because science doesn&#8217;t know everything, that doesn&#8217;t mean science knows nothing. Science knows enough for us to be watched by a few million people now on television, for these lights to be working, for quite extraordinary miracles to have taken place in terms of the harnessing of the physical world and our dim approaches towards understanding it.</p>
<br><b>Stephen Fry</b> (b. 1957)  British actor, writer, comedian<br><i>Room 101</i>,  6&#215;10, BBC Two (2001-03-12) 
									<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(<a href="https://youtu.be/-hnABeM2I7c?t=179" target="_blank">Source</a>)
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		<title>Descartes, René -- Discourse on Method [Discours de la méthode], Part 2 (1637) [tr. Cottingham, Stoothoff (1985)]</title>
		<link>https://wist.info/descartes-rene/51194/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Feb 2022 15:40:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Descartes, René]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[And yet a majority vote is worthless as a proof of truths that are at all difficult to discover; for a single man is much more likely to hit upon them than a group of people. I was, then, unable to choose anyone whose opinions struck me as preferable to those of all others, and [&#8230;]]]></description>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>And yet a majority vote is worthless as a proof of truths that are at all difficult to discover; for a single man is much more likely to hit upon them than a group of people. I was, then, unable to choose anyone whose opinions struck me as preferable to those of all others, and I found myself as it were forced to become my own guide.</p>
<p><em>[Et que néanmoins la pluralité des voix n&#8217;est pas une preuve qui vaille rien, pour les vérités un peu malaisées à découvrir, à cause qu&#8217;il est bien plus vraisemblable qu&#8217;un homme seul les ait rencontrées que tout un peuple; je ne pouvois choisir personne dont les opinions me semblassent devoir être préférées à celles des autres, et je me trouvai comme contraint d&#8217;entreprendre moi-même de me conduire.]</em></p>
<br><b>René Descartes</b> (1596-1650) French philosopher, mathematician<br><i>Discourse on Method [Discours de la méthode]</i>, Part 2 (1637) [tr. Cottingham, Stoothoff (1985)] 
									<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(<a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Descartes_Selected_Philosophical_Writing/5bw2AAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=descartes%20method%20%22copying%20the%20sceptics%22&pg=PT28&printsec=frontcover&bsq=%22majority%20vote%20is%20worthless%22" target="_blank">Source</a>)
										<br><br><span class="cite">
						

(<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/13846/13846-h/13846-h.htm#:~:text=et%20que%20n%C3%A9anmoins%20la,m%C3%AAme%20de%20me%20conduire.">Source (French)</a>). Alternate translations:<br><br>



<blockquote>Notwithstanding that plurality of voices is a proof of no validity, in those truths which are hard to be discovered; for that it’s much more likely for one man alone to have met with them, then a whole Nation; I could choose no Man whose opinion was to be preferr’d before anothers: And I found my self even constrain’d to undertake the conduct of my self.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/25830/25830-h/25830-h.htm#:~:text=notwithstanding%20that%20plurality,of%20my%20self.">Newcombe</a> ed. (1649)]</blockquote><br>



<blockquote>Although such be the ground of our opinions, I remarked that a plurality of suffrages is no guarantee of truth where it is at all of difficult discovery, as in such cases it is much more likely that it will be found by one than by many. I could, however, select from the crowd no one whose opinions seemed worthy of preference, and thus I found myself constrained, as it were, to use my own reason in the conduct of my life.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/59/59-h/59-h.htm#:~:text=although%20such%20be,of%20my%20life.">Veitch</a> (1901)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Yet in spite of this the voice of the majority does not afford a proof of any value in truths a little difficult to discover, because such truths are much more likely to have been discovered by one man than by a nation. I could not, however, put my finger on a single person whose opinions seemed preferable to those of others, and I found that I was, so to speak, constrained myself to undertake the direction of my procedure.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Discourse_on_Method_and_Meditations/JSXZHxXwRSAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA13&printsec=frontcover&bsq=%22voice%20of%20the%20majority%22">Haldane & Ross</a> (1911)]</blockquote><br>

						</span>
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		<title>Asimov, Isaac -- (Spurious)</title>
		<link>https://wist.info/asimov-isaac/48754/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 16 Sep 2021 15:13:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asimov, Isaac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[arrogance]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do. Sometimes quoted without the initial &#8220;Those&#8221;. The citationless attribution of this quip to Asimov cannot be traced back further than 2001, several years after his death. The earliest version found is a filler item in The Saturday Evening [&#8230;]]]></description>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.</p>
<br><b>Isaac Asimov</b> (1920-1992) Russian-American author, polymath, biochemist<br>(Spurious) 
														<br><br><span class="cite">
						

Sometimes quoted without the initial "Those".<br><br>

The citationless attribution of this quip to Asimov cannot be traced back further than 2001, several years after his death. The earliest version found is a filler item in <em>The Saturday Evening Post</em> (6 May 1961), attributed to humor columnist Harold Coffin: "The fellow who thinks he knows it all is especially annoying to those of us who do."<br><br>

More discussion here: <a href="https://quoteinvestigator.com/2019/07/13/know-all/">The Fellow Who Thinks He Knows It All Is Especially Annoying To Those of Us Who Do – Quote Investigator</a>.						</span>
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		<title>Lewis, Sinclair -- Elmer Gantry (1927)</title>
		<link>https://wist.info/lewis-sinclair/31481/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Nov 2015 14:21:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Lewis, Sinclair]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[The Maker of the universe with stars a hundred thousand light-years apart was interested, furious, and very personal about it if a small boy played baseball on Sunday afternoon.]]></description>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Maker of the universe with stars a hundred thousand light-years apart was interested, furious, and very personal about it if a small boy played baseball on Sunday afternoon.</p>
<br><b>Sinclair Lewis</b> (1885-1951) American novelist, playwright<br><i>Elmer Gantry</i> (1927) 
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		<title>Butler, Samuel -- The Note-Books of Samuel Butler (1912)</title>
		<link>https://wist.info/butler-samuel/797/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Butler, Samuel]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[There is no such source of error as the pursuit of absolute truth.]]></description>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>There is no such source of error as the pursuit of absolute truth.</p>
<br><b>Samuel Butler</b> (1835-1902) English novelist, satirist, scholar<br><i>The Note-Books of Samuel Butler</i> (1912) 
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		<title>Pratchett, Terry -- Good Omens, 6. &#8220;Saturday&#8221; (1990) [with Neil Gaiman]</title>
		<link>https://wist.info/pratchett-terry/3201/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Pratchett, Terry]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;From what I remember,&#8221; replied Crowley, thoughtfully, &#8220;&#8211; and we were never actually on what you might call speaking terms &#8212; He wasn&#8217;t exactly one for a straight answer. In fact, in fact, He&#8217;d never answer at all. He&#8217;d just smile, as if He knew something that you didn&#8217;t.&#8221; &#8220;And of course that&#8217;s true,&#8221; said [&#8230;]]]></description>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span class="tab">&#8220;From what I remember,&#8221; replied Crowley, thoughtfully, &#8220;&#8211; and we were never actually on what you might call speaking terms &#8212; He wasn&#8217;t exactly one for a straight answer. In fact, in fact, He&#8217;d never answer at all.  He&#8217;d just <i>smile</i>, as if He knew something that you didn&#8217;t.&#8221;<br />
<span class="tab">&#8220;And of course that&#8217;s true,&#8221; said the angel. &#8220;Otherwise, what&#8217;d be the point?&#8221;</p>
<br><b>Terry Pratchett</b> (1948-2015) English author<br><i>Good Omens</i>, 6. &#8220;Saturday&#8221; (1990) [with Neil Gaiman] 
									<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(<a href="https://archive.org/details/goodomensniceacc0000gaim_d0u5/page/526/mode/2up?q=%22from+what+I+remember%22" target="_blank">Source</a>)
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