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The theory of probabilities is at bottom nothing but common sense reduced to calculus; it enables us to appreciate with exactness that which accurate minds feel with a sort of instinct for which ofttimes they are unable to account.
Pierre-Simon Laplace 1749 - 1827

1749 - 1827
As a philosopher, if I were speaking to a purely philosophic audience I should say that I ought to describe myself as an Agnostic, because I do not think that there is a conclusive argument by which one can prove that there is not a God. On the other hand, if I am to convey the right impression to the ordinary man in the street I think that I ought to say that I am an Atheist, because, when I say that I cannot prove that there is not a God, I ought to add equally that I cannot prove that there are not the Homeric gods.
Bertrand Russell 1872- 1970

1872- 1970
Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power to that enables us to empathise with humans whose experiences we have never shared.
J. K. Rowling born 1965

born 1965
Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone; For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth, But has trouble enough of its own. ...
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1850 - 1919

Used in 'Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy' (2017). With thanks to C-Lee

1850 - 1919
Used in 'Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy' (2017). With thanks to C-Lee
Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas.
Unknown 1821- 1862

Unknown
1821- 1862
Auctioneer, n. The man who proclaims with a hammer that he has picked a pocket with his tongue.
Ambrose Bierce 1842 - 1914

Bierce, A. (1906). The cynic's word book. New York: Doubleday, Page, & Company.

1842 - 1914
Bierce, A. (1906). The cynic's word book. New York: Doubleday, Page, & Company.
The rules of the game Go are so elegant, organic, and rigorously logical that if intelligent life forms exist elsewhere in the universe, they almost certainly play Go.
Emanuel Lasker 1868 - 1941

1868 - 1941
There is no certainty in sciences where one of the mathematical sciences cannot be applied, or which are not in relation with these mathematics.
Leonardo da Vinci 1452 - 1519

1452 - 1519
Chaos is rejecting all you have learned. Chaos is being yourself.
Emil Cioran 1911 - 1995

1911 - 1995
There is surely a piece of divinity in us, something that was before the elements, and owes no homage unto the sun.
Thomas Browne 1605 - 1682

1605 - 1682
A philosopher once asked, “Are we human because we gaze at the stars, or do we gaze at them because we are human?” Pointless, really... “Do the stars gaze back?” Now, that’s a question.
Unknown born 1960

Unknown
born 1960
The truth is often a terrible weapon of aggression. It is possible to lie, and even to murder, for the truth.
George Ade 1866 - 1944

1866 - 1944
He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you.
Friedrich Nietzsche 1844 - 1900

1844 - 1900
By virtue of depression, we recall those misdeeds we buried in the depths of our memory. Depression exhumes our shames.
Emil Cioran 1911 - 1995

Anathemas and Admirations (1987)

1911 - 1995
Anathemas and Admirations (1987)
Wherever good fortune enters, envy lays siege to the place and attacks it; and when it departs, sorrow and repentance remain behind.
Leonardo da Vinci 1452 - 1519

1452 - 1519
No one imagines that a symphony is supposed to improve as it goes along, or that the whole object of playing is to reach the finale. The point of music is discovered in every moment of playing and listening to it. It is the same, I feel, with the greater part of our lives, and if we are unduly absorbed in improving them we may forget altogether to live them.
Alan W. Watts 1915 - 1973

1915 - 1973

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