WIST Quotations

Colton, Charles Caleb -- Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 1, § 48 (1820)

Dave — Fri, 11 Feb 2022 19:17:04 +0000

Pedantry prides herself on being wrong by rules; while common sense is contented to be right without them.

Charles Caleb "C. C." Colton (1780-1832) English cleric, writer, aphorist
Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 1, § 48 (1820)
(Source)

Stross, Charles -- The Apocalypse Codex (2012)

Dave — Tue, 11 Apr 2017 20:22:19 +0000

There is a role for bureaucracy; it’s very useful for certain tasks. In particular, it facilitates standardization and interchangeability. Bureaucracies excel at performing tasks that must be done consistently whether the people assigned to them are brilliant performers or bumbling fools. You can’t always count on having Albert Einstein in the patent office, so you design its procedures to work even if you hire Mr. Bean by mistake.

Charles "Charlie" Stross (b. 1964) British writer
The Apocalypse Codex (2012)
(Source)

Stross, Charles -- The Jennifer Morgue (2006)

Dave — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 15:01:38 +0000

The Laundry field operations manual is notably short on advice for how to comport one’s self when being held prisoner aboard a mad billionaire necromancer’s yacht, other than the usual stern admonition to keep receipts for all expenses incurred in the line of duty.

Charles "Charlie" Stross (b. 1964) British writer
The Jennifer Morgue (2006)

Stross, Charles -- The Atrocity Archives (2004)

Dave — Wed, 21 Dec 2016 01:20:45 +0000

In the Laundry we supposedly pride ourselves on our procedures. We’ve got procedures for breaking and entering offices, procedures for reporting a shortage of paper clips, procedures for summoning demons from the vasty deeps, and procedures for writing procedures. We may actually be on track to be the world’s first ISO-9000 total-quality-certified intelligence agency. According to our written procedure for dealing with procedural cluster-fucks on foreign assignment, what I should do at this point is fill out Form 1008.7, then drive like a bat out of hell over Highway 17 until it hits the Interstate, then take the turnoff for San Francisco Airport and use my company credit card to buy the first available seat home. Not forgetting to file Form 1018.9 (“expenses unexpectedly incurred in responding to a situation 1008.7 in the line of duty”) in time for the end of month accounting cycle.

Charles "Charlie" Stross (b. 1964) British writer
The Atrocity Archives (2004)

Aaronovitch, Ben -- Moon Over Soho (2011)

Dave — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 16:40:31 +0000

Murder investigations start with the victim because usually in the first instance that’s all you’ve got. The study of the victim is called victimology because everything sounds better with an ology tacked on the end. To make sure that you make a proper fist of this, the police have developed the world’s most useless mnemonic: 5 x WH & H. Otherwise known as Who? What? Where? When? Why? & How? Next time you watch a real murder investigation on the TV and you see a group of serious-looking detectives standing around talking, remember that what they’re actually doing is trying to work out what sodding order the mnemonic is supposed to go in. Once they’ve sorted that out the exhausted officers will retire to the nearest watering hole for a drink and a bit of a breather.

Ben Aaronovitch (b. 1964) British author
Moon Over Soho (2011)

Kafka, Franz -- Notebook, Aphorism # 2 [tr. Kaiser and Wilkins]

Dave — Tue, 03 Dec 2013 13:39:57 +0000

All human errors are impatience, the premature breaking off of what is methodical, an apparent fencing in of the apparent thing.

[Alle menschlichen Fehler sind Ungeduld, ein vorzeitiges Abbrechen des Methodischen, ein scheinbares Einpfählen der scheinbaren Sache.]

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) Czech-Austrian Jewish writer
Notebook, Aphorism # 2 [tr. Kaiser and Wilkins]
(Source)

Alt. trans.: "All human errors are impatience, a premature breaking off of methodical procedure, an apparent fencing-in of what is apparently at issue."

Rickover, Hyman -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:42:01 +0000

Always use the chain of command to issue orders, but if you use the chain of command for information, you’re dead.

Hyman Rickover (1900-1986) Polish-American naval engineer, admiral [b. Chaim Gdala Rykower]
(Attributed)
(Source)

Recalled by James Woolsey, at the time CIA Director (1993-1995), as something said to him by Rickover; in "You've Got To Talk To The Smokers," Newsweek (1994-10-09).

Though this is the form and citation most usually given for this quote, Woolsey had previously attributed a lengthier version to Rickover, though it was not recorded with quotation marks. After having served as Under Secretary of the Navy (1977-1979, during which he presumably interacted with Rickover, who retired in 1983), Woolsey spoke at the "Creativity and Innovation in Bureaucracy" symposium at the National Defense University, Washington, DC, in the panel "Creative Approaches to National Security" (1983-10-27):

Hyman G. Rickover used to say, when you give an order in any military circumstance, make sure you use the chain of command. But if you rely on the chain of command for information, you're dead. I think there's a great deal of truth in that.