WIST Quotations

Schiff, Stacy -- “Obama’s Mother Ann Dunham Shaped His Success,” Newsweek (2011-05-01)

Dave — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 15:20:10 +0000

As is always the case, parenting is an exercise in unintended consequences.

Stacy Schiff (b. 1961) American editor, essayist, biographer
“Obama’s Mother Ann Dunham Shaped His Success,” Newsweek (2011-05-01)
(Source)

McLaughlin, Mignon -- The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 5 (1963)

Dave — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 20:31:20 +0000

From a wretched deed there is sometimes a good outcome, making penance even more unlikely than usual.

Mignon McLaughlin (1913-1983) American journalist and author
The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 5 (1963)
(Source)

Raskin, Jef -- The Humane Interface, 1-5 (2000)

Dave — Tue, 10 May 2022 19:23:56 +0000

Users do not care about what is inside the box, as long as the box does what they need done.

Jef Raskin (1943-2005) American computer scientist, writer
The Humane Interface, 1-5 (2000)
(Source)

Brilliant, Ashleigh -- Pot-Shots

Dave — Fri, 14 May 2021 18:05:21 +0000

War is one way of making decisions — but what’s decided may not be what anybody originally intended.

Ashleigh Brilliant (b. 1933) Anglo-American epigramist, aphorist, cartoonist
Pot-Shots

Inge, William Ralph -- “The Future of the English Race,” Galton Lecture (1919), Outspoken Essays: First Series (1920)

Dave — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 17:43:08 +0000

Things never turn out either so well or so badly as they logically ought to do.

William Ralph Inge (1860-1954) English prelate [Dean Inge]
“The Future of the English Race,” Galton Lecture (1919), Outspoken Essays: First Series (1920)
(Source)

Machiavelli, Niccolo -- The Prince, ch. 18 (1513) [tr. Marriott (1908)]

Dave — Thu, 07 Dec 2017 00:11:48 +0000

Every one sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are, and those few dare not oppose themselves to the opinion of the many, who have the majesty of the state to defend them; and in the actions of all men, and especially of princes, which it is not prudent to challenge, one judges by the result. For that reason, let a prince have the credit of conquering and holding his state, the means will always be considered honest, and he will be praised by everybody because the vulgar are always taken by what a thing seems to be and by what comes of it.

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) Italian politician, philosopher, political scientist
The Prince, ch. 18 (1513) [tr. Marriott (1908)]
(Source)

Origin of the paraphrase "The ends justify the means," which is generally attributed to Machiavelli.

Eisner, Elliot -- The Arts and the Creation of Mind, ch. 8 (2002)

Dave — Wed, 29 Jul 2015 16:00:54 +0000

One lesson the arts teach is that there can be more than one answer to a question and more than one solution to a problem; variability of outcome is okay. […] The arts teach children that their personal signature is important and that answers to questions and solutions to problems need not be identical. There is, in the arts, more than one interpretation to a musical score, more than one way to describe a painting or a sculpture, more than one appropriate form for a dance performance, more than one meaning for a poetic rendering of a person or a situation. In the arts diversity and variability are made central. That is one lesson that education can learn from the arts.

Elliot Eisner (1933-2014) Academic, researcher, professor of art and education
The Arts and the Creation of Mind, ch. 8 (2002)
(Source)

Variant: "The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution; questions can have more than one answer. If they do anything, the arts embrace diversity of outcome."

Corneille, Pierre -- Horace, Act 2, sc. 8 (1640)

Dave — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 19:47:57 +0000

Do your duty, and leave the outcome to the Gods.

Pierre Corneille (1606-1684) French tragedian
Horace, Act 2, sc. 8 (1640)

~Other -- The Last Law

Dave — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:04:53 +0000

If several things that could have gone wrong have not gone wrong, it would have been ultimately beneficial for them to have gone wrong.

(Other Authors and Sources)
The Last Law

In Arthur Bloch, Murphy's Law: Book Two, preface (1980)

Tolkien, J.R.R. -- The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 1: The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 2, ch. 2 “The Council of Elrond” [Gandalf] (1954)

Dave — Tue, 24 May 2011 16:31:29 +0000

Despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not.

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) English writer, fabulist, philologist, academic [John Ronald Reuel Tolkien]
The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 1: The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 2, ch. 2 “The Council of Elrond” [Gandalf] (1954)
(Source)

Jefferson, Thomas -- (Spurious)

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

I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
(Spurious)

Variations:

"I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it."
"The harder I work, the more luck I have."

Not found in any of Jefferson's written works. The sentiment long predates him, but this particular quotation (and variants) date to the 1920s. More discussion here: I’m a Great Believer in Luck. The Harder I Work, the More Luck I Have – Quote Investigator.

Barrie, James -- The Little Minister, ch. 1 “The Love-Light” (1891)

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

The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story and writes another, and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it.

J. M. Barrie (1860-1937) Scottish novelist and dramatist [James Matthew Barrie]
The Little Minister, ch. 1 “The Love-Light” (1891)
(Source)