WIST Quotations

Gauss, Carl Friedrich -- Letter to Heinrich Christian Schumacher (1833-04-02)

Dave — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 20:36:44 +0000

You know that I write slowly. This is chiefly because I am never satisfied until I have said as much as possible in a few words, and writing briefly takes far more time than writing at length.

[Sie wissen, dass ich langsam schreibe, allein dies kommt hauptsächlich daher, weil ich mir nie anders gefallen kann, als wenn in kleinem Raum möglichst viel ist, und kurz zu schreiben viel mehr Zeit kostet als lang.]

Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855) German mathematician, geodesist, physicist [Carolus Fridericus Gauss]
Letter to Heinrich Christian Schumacher (1833-04-02)

The letter, in German, can be found in Christian August Friedrich Peters (ed.), Briefwechsel zwischen C. F. Gauss und H. C. Schumacher, Vol. 2 (1860).

The English translation source for this quotation is obscure. It is quoted, without citation, in H. Merschkowski, Ways of Thought of Great Mathematicians (1964) and, more recently, G. Simmons, Calculus Gems (1992), and is usually referenced to one of those two books.

Sarton, May -- Journal of a Solitude (1973)

Dave — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 16:10:31 +0000

So everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.

May Sarton (1912–1995) Belgian-American poet, novelist, memoirist [pen name of Eleanore Marie Sarton]
Journal of a Solitude (1973)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 4 “Boredom and Excitement” (1930)

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

A certain power of enduring boredom is therefore essential to a happy life, and is one of the things that ought to be taught to the young. […] A generation that cannot endure boredom will be a generation of little men, of men unduly divorced from the slow processes of nature, of men in whom every vital impulse slowly withers, as though they were cut flowers in a vase.

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 4 “Boredom and Excitement” (1930)
(Source)

Carlin, George -- Show (1984-04-19), On Campus, “Cars and Driving,” University of California, Los Angeles

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

Have you ever noticed when driving that anyone who is driving slower than you is an idiot? And anyone driving faster than you is a maniac? “Say, look at this idiot here! Will you just look at this idiot, just creeping along — whoa, look at that maniac go!” I mean, it’s a wonder we ever get anywhere at all, with all the idiots and maniacs there are.

George Carlin (1937–2008) American comedian
Show (1984-04-19), On Campus, “Cars and Driving,” University of California, Los Angeles

(Source (Video); dialog verified)

This skit was put in text in Napalm & Silly Putty, "Cars and Driving, Part 1," "Idiots and Maniacs" (2001):

Have you ever noticed when you're drivin', anyone goin' slower than you is an idiot? And anyone goin' faster than you is a maniac? "Will you look at this idiot!" [points right] "Look at him! Just creepin' along!" [swings head left] "Holy shit! Look at that maniac go!" Why, I tell ya, folks, it's a wonder we ever get anywhere at all these days, what with all the idiots and maniacs out there.

Which was in turn recorded as an audiobook by Carlin. Note the audio version of the book adds "Whoa!" in front of "Holy shit!" and omits the words "these days."