WIST Quotations

Hammerstein-Equord, Kurt von -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 04 May 2020 22:26:55 +0000

I divide my officers into four classes: the clever, the lazy, the industrious, and the stupid. Each officer possesses at least two of these qualities. Those who are clever and industrious are fitted for the highest staff appointments. Use can be made of those who are stupid and lazy. The man who is clever and lazy however is for the very highest command; he has the temperament and nerves to deal with all situations. But whoever is stupid and industrious is a menace and must be removed immediately!

Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord (1878–1943) German general
(Attributed)

Possibly apocryphal. Quoted (unconfirmed) in Horst Poller, Bewältigte Vergangenheit. Das 20. Jahrhundert, erlebt, erlitten, gestaltet [Conquered Past. The 20th century, witnessed, endured, shaped] (2010). Sometimes cited to Truppenführung [Troop Leading] (1933), the German Army Field Manual, but not found there. Also attributed to Erich von Manstein.

Schweitzer, Albert -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 14 May 2018 18:56:56 +0000

Man is a clever animal, who behaves like an imbecile.

Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) Alsatian philosopher, physician, philanthropist, polymath
(Attributed)

Coleridge, Samuel Taylor -- Biographia Literaria (1817)

Dave — Tue, 19 Jan 2016 14:05:11 +0000

Experience informs us that the first defense of weak minds is to recriminate.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834) English poet and critic
Biographia Literaria (1817)

Lewis, C.S. -- The Magician’s Nephew (1955)

Dave — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 14:49:12 +0000

Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed.

C. S. Lewis (1898–1963) English writer, literary scholar, lay theologian [Clive Staples Lewis]
The Magician’s Nephew (1955)

Thoreau, Henry David -- Journal (13 Feb 1860)

Dave — Thu, 05 Mar 2015 14:40:14 +0000

The stupid you have always with you.

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) American philosopher and writer
Journal (13 Feb 1860)

Shaw, George Bernard -- The Apple Cart, Preface (1928)

Dave — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 16:43:04 +0000

Like many men of genius, he could not understand why things obvious to him should not be so at once to other people, and found it easier to believe that they were corrupt than that they could be so stupid.

George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish playwright and critic
The Apple Cart, Preface (1928)

~Other -- Murphy’s Law for Grunts

Dave — Thu, 29 Jan 2015 13:08:32 +0000

If it’s stupid but works, it ain’t stupid.

(Other Authors and Sources)
Murphy’s Law for Grunts

In Paul Dixon, "Getting a Handle on Life's Slippery Truths," San Francisco Chronicle (24 Dec 1992)

Monash, Paul -- The Friends of Eddie Coyle (movie) (1973)

Dave — Thu, 22 Jan 2015 13:17:31 +0000

EDDIE: Kid, life’s hard. But it’s a lot harder if you’re stupid.

Paul Monash (1917–2003) American producer and screenwriter
The Friends of Eddie Coyle (movie) (1973)

Screenplay based on the novel by George V. Higgins (though the line is not in the book). Played in the movie by Robert Mitchum, to whom the quote is often attributed.

Hemry, John G. -- The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Invincible (2012)

Dave — Wed, 16 Jul 2014 22:17:41 +0000

“Fast and stupid is still stupid. It just gets to stupid a lot quicker than humans could on their own. Which, I admit, is an accomplishment,” she added, “because we’re pretty damn good at stupid.”

John G. Hemry (b. 1956) American naval officer, author [pseud. Jack Campbell]
The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Invincible (2012)

On computers.

Shaw, George Bernard -- Caesar and Cleopatra, Act 3 [Apollodorus] (1898)

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

When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty.

George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish playwright and critic
Caesar and Cleopatra, Act 3 [Apollodorus] (1898)

Mill, John Stuart -- Debate in Parliament with John Pakington (31 May 1866)

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

I did not mean that Conservatives are generally stupid; I meant, that stupid persons are generally Conservative. I believe that to be so obvious and undeniable a fact that I hardly think any honorable Gentleman will question it.

John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) English philosopher and economist
Debate in Parliament with John Pakington (31 May 1866)

Often paraphrased "Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative." Misquoted in Courtney, Life of John Stuart Mill (1889) as "I never meant to say that the Conservatives are generally stupid. I meant to say that stupid people are generally Conservative. I believe that is so obviously and universally admitted a principle that I hardly think any gentleman will deny it."