WIST Quotations

Doctor Who (1963) -- 23×01 “The Trial of a Time Lord: The Mysterious Planet,” Part 1 (1985-01-05) [w. Robert Holmes]

Dave — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 20:38:15 +0000

THE DOCTOR: Oh, I always like to do the unexpected. Takes people by surprise.

Doctor Who (1963-1989) British science fiction television series, original run (BBC)
23×01 “The Trial of a Time Lord: The Mysterious Planet,” Part 1 (1985-01-05) [w. Robert Holmes]
(Source)

(Source (Video)).

A number of sources start the second sentence with "It takes," which is not supported by the video.

Numbering for the story/serial within the season is controversial. Season 23 consisted of 14 episodes ("Part One" through "Part Fourteen") under the title "The Trial of a Time Lord." In turn, there were four distinct segments directed/written by different individuals, which were then separately novelized under new names (in this case, "The Mysterious Planet").

Heraclitus -- Fragment 18 [tr. Burnet (1920), DK B18]

Dave — Thu, 14 Dec 2023 17:06:47 +0000

If you do not expect the unexpected, you will not find it; for it is hard to be sought out and difficult.

[ἐὰν μὴ ἔλπηται ἀνέλπιστον οὐκ ἐξευρήσει, ἀνεξερεύνητον ἐὸν καὶ ἄπορον]

Heraclitus of Ephesus (c.540-c.480 BC) Greek philosopher [Ἡράκλειτος, Herákleitos, Heracleitus]
Fragment 18 [tr. Burnet (1920), DK B18]
(Source)

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

He who does not expect will not find out the unexpected, for it is trackless and unexplored.
[tr. Kahn (1981), VI (D. 18)]

He who does not expect the unexpected will not find it out.
[tr. Kahn (1981), VI (D. 18), variant]

He who does not expect the unexpected will not find it, since it is trackless and unexplored.
[tr. Allan (2008)]

Unless you expect the unexpected, you will not find it, for it is hidden and thickly tangled.
[tr. Jenks (2014)]

Von Clausewitz, Karl -- On War [Vom Kriege], Book 1, ch. 1 “What Is War? [Was ist der Krieg?],” § 22 (1.1.22) (1832) [tr. Howard & Paret (1976)]

Dave — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 17:02:45 +0000

The art of war deals with living and with moral forces. Consequently, it cannot attain the absolute, or certainty; it must always leave a margin for uncertainty, in the greatest things as well as in the smallest. With uncertainty in one scale, courage and self-confidence should be thrown into the other to correct the balance. The greater they are, the greater the margin that can be left for accidents.

[Die Kriegskunst hat es mit lebendigen und mit moralischen Kräften zu thun; daraus folgt, dass sie nirgends das Absolute und Gewisse erreichen kann; es bleibt also überall dem Ungefähr ein Spielraum, und zwar eben so gross bei dem Grössten, wie bei dem Keinsten. Wie dieses Ungefähr auf dereinen Seite steht, muss Muth und Selbstvertrauen auf die andere treten und die Lücke ausfüllen. So gross, wie diese sind, so gross darf der Spielraum für jenes werden.]

Karl von Clausewitz (1780-1831) Prussian soldier, historian, military theorist
On War [Vom Kriege], Book 1, ch. 1 “What Is War? [Was ist der Krieg?],” § 22 (1.1.22) (1832) [tr. Howard & Paret (1976)]
(Source)

(Source (German)). Alternate translations:

The art of war has to deal with living and with moral forces; the consequence of which is that it can never attain the absolute and positive. There is therefore everywhere a margin for the accidental; and just as much inthe greatest things as in the smallest. As there is room for this accidental on the one hand, so on the other there must be courage and self-reliance in proportion to the room left. If these qualities are forthcoming in a high degree, the margin left may likewise be great.
[tr. Graham (1873)]

The art of war has to do with living and with moral forces; from this it follows that it can nowhere attain the absolute and certain; there remains always a margin for the accidental just as much with the greatest things as with the smallest. As on the one side stands this accidental element, so on the other courage and self-confidence must step forward and fill up the gap. The greater the courage and self-confidence, the larger the margin that may be left for the accidental.
[tr. Jolles (1943)]

Bellow, Saul -- Herzog (1964)

Dave — Wed, 20 May 2020 20:05:42 +0000

Unexpected intrusions of beauty. This is what life is.

Saul Bellow (1915-2005) Canadian-American writer
Herzog (1964)
(Source)

Toffler, Alvin -- (Attributed)

Dave — Fri, 24 Jan 2020 22:48:57 +0000

The future always arrives too fast — and in the wrong order.

Alvin Toffler (1928-2016) American writer and futurist
(Attributed)

Stross, Charles -- The Apocalypse Codex (2012)

Dave — Tue, 21 Mar 2017 21:59:30 +0000

Uneventful. Boring. Tedious. All good adjectives to apply to long-haul travel; much better than exciting, unexpected, and abrupt.

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

Adams, Douglas -- The Salmon of Doubt, Part 3 “And Everything,” “The Salmon of Doubt,” ch. 5 (2002) [ed. Peter Guzzardi]

Dave — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 15:19:35 +0000

Solutions nearly always come from the direction you least expect, which means there’s no point trying to look in that direction because it won’t be coming from there.

Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
The Salmon of Doubt, Part 3 “And Everything,” “The Salmon of Doubt,” ch. 5 (2002) [ed. Peter Guzzardi]
(Source)

Noted as an observation Dirk Gently "mentioned a lot to people."

Davies, Robertson -- “Literature and Moral Purpose” (1990)

Dave — Mon, 18 May 2015 13:27:15 +0000

The result of a single action may spread like the circles that expand when a stone is thrown into a pond, until they touch places and people unguessed at by the person who threw the stone.

Robertson Davies (1913-1995) Canadian author, editor, publisher
“Literature and Moral Purpose” (1990)

Brooks, Thomas -- The Hypocrite Detected, Anatomized (1650)

Dave — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 18:26:04 +0000

You have no lease of your lives, and death is not bound to give you warning before it gives you that deadly blow that will send you to everlasting misery or everlasting felicity.

Thomas Brooks (1608-1680) English Puritan divine, writer
The Hypocrite Detected, Anatomized (1650)

Julius Caesar -- The Gallic Wars [De Bello Gallico], Book 6, ch. 39 (49 BC)

Dave — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 13:24:39 +0000

No one is so brave that he is not disturbed by something unexpected.

[Nemo est tam fortis, quin rei novitate perturbetur.]

Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) Roman general and statesman [Gaius Julius Caesar]
The Gallic Wars [De Bello Gallico], Book 6, ch. 39 (49 BC)
(Source)

Alt. trans.: "No one is so courageous as not to be disconcerted by the suddenness of the affair." [tr. McDevitte and Bohn]

Churchill, Winston -- My Early Life: A Roving Commission, ch. 18 “With Buller to the Cape” (1930)

Dave — Mon, 24 May 2010 12:48:42 +0000

Let us learn our lessons. Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realise that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events. Antiquated War Offices, weak, incompetent, or arrogant Commanders, untrustworthy allies, hostile neutrals, malignant Fortune, ugly surprises, awful miscalculations — all take their seats at the Council Board on the morrow of a declaration of war. Always remember, however sure you are that you could easily win, that there would not be a war if the other man did not think he also had a chance.

Winston Churchill (1874-1965) British statesman and author
My Early Life: A Roving Commission, ch. 18 “With Buller to the Cape” (1930)
(Source)

On his overconfidence in 1899 prior to the Boer War. See Pleve (1903).

Snicket, Lemony -- The Slippery Slope, ch. 1 (2003)

Dave — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:07:00 +0000

Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant, filled with odd waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don’t always like.

Lemony Snicket (b. 1970) American author, screenwriter, musician (pseud. for Daniel Handler)
The Slippery Slope, ch. 1 (2003)

~Proverbs and Sayings -- Chinese proverb

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000

When we talk of tomorrow, the gods laugh.

Proverbs, Sayings, and Adages
Chinese proverb