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March 11

From Wikiquote

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2004
To know someone here or there with whom you can feel there is understanding in spite of distances or thoughts expressed. That can make life a garden. ~ Goethe
2005
Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. ~ Douglas Adams (born 11 March 1950)
2006
Let us think the unthinkable, let us do the undoable, let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all. ~ Douglas Adams (born 11 March 1950)
2007
Science has a simple faith, which transcends utility. Nearly all men of science, all men of learning for that matter, and men of simple ways too, have it in some form and in some degree. It is the faith that it is the privilege of man to learn to understand, and that this is his mission. If we abandon that mission under stress we shall abandon it forever, for stress will not cease. Knowledge for the sake of understanding, not merely to prevail, that is the essence of our being. None can define its limits, or set its ultimate boundaries. ~ Vannevar Bush
2008
The world has arrived at an age of cheap complex devices of great reliability; and something is bound to come of it. ~ Vannevar Bush
2009
All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated and well supported in logic and argument than others. ~ Douglas Adams
2010
Perhaps if only once you did enjoy
The thousandth part of all the happiness
A heart beloved enjoys, returning love,
Repentant, you would surely sighing say,
"All time is truly lost and gone
Which is not spent in serving love."

~ Torquato Tasso ~
2011
I'd take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance any day. ~ Douglas Adams
2012
We are not an endangered species ourselves yet, but this is not for lack of trying. ~ Douglas Adams
2013
There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.
~ Douglas Adams ~
2014
We puzzle as to whether the universe is bounded or extends forever; whether, indeed, it may only be one universe among many. We speculate as to whether our universe began in a vast explosion, whether it pulsates between utter compression and wide diffusion, whether it is self-renewing and thus unchanged forever. And we are humble.
But science teaches more than this. It continually reminds us that we are still ignorant and there is much to learn. Time and space are interconnected in strange ways; there is no absolute simultaneity.
~ Vannevar Bush ~
2015
One Thursday, nearly two thousand years after one man had been nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be to be nice to people for a change, a girl sitting on her own in a small café in Rickmansworth suddenly realized what it was that had been going wrong all this time, and she finally knew how the world could be made a good and happy place. This time it was right, it would work, and no one would have to get nailed to anything.
Sadly, however, before she could get to a phone to tell anyone about it, the Earth was unexpectedly demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass, and so the idea was lost, seemingly for ever.
~ Douglas Adams ~
in
~ So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish ~
2016
Scientific progress on a broad front results from the free play of free intellects, working on subjects of their own choice, in the manner dictated by their curiosity for exploration of the unknown.
~ Vannevar Bush ~
2017
In the beginning the Universe was created.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.
~ Douglas Adams ~
in
~ The Restaurant at the End of the Universe ~
2018
Advances in science when put to practical use mean more jobs, higher wages, shorter hours, more abundant crops, more leisure for recreation, for study, for learning how to live without the deadening drudgery which has been the burden of the common man for ages past. Advances in science will also bring higher standards of living, will lead to the prevention or cure of diseases, will promote conservation of our limited national resources, and will assure means of defense against aggression. But to achieve these objectives — to secure a high level of employment, to maintain a position of world leadership — the flow of new scientific knowledge must be both continuous and substantial.
~ Vannevar Bush ~
2019
Science, by itself, provides no panacea for individual, social, and economic ills. It can be effective in the national welfare only as a member of a team, whether the conditions be peace or war. But without scientific progress no amount of achievement in other directions can insure our health, prosperity, and security as a nation in the modern world.
~ Vannevar Bush ~
2020
Better defence than shield or breastplate, is holy innocence to the naked breast.
~ Torquato Tasso ~
2021
These are hard times. The world hurts. We live in fear and forget to walk with hope. But hope has not forgotten you. So ask it to dinner. It's probably hungry and would appreciate the invitation.
~ Libba Bray ~
2022
People underestimate how dangerous dictators are. In 2014, we spoke to the UK parliament, we spoke at the Senate in the US, we were asked by a lot of people how they should talk to Putin, how they should frame the conversation, and I always advised that they should be as strict as they could.
You cannot play nice with Putin.
~ Nadezhda Tolokonnikova ~
2023
My favorite word is "redemption." I like both its meaning and the sound. My least favorite word is "maybe." "Maybe" is almost always a "no" drawn out in cruel fashion.
~ Libba Bray ~
2024
Rank or add further suggestions…


Quotes by people born this day, already used as QOTD:

This must be Thursday... I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
~ Douglas Adams ~
in
~ The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ~

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Suggestions

[edit]

Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too? ~Douglas Adams

  • 3 not every quote needs to be paraphrased Lyle 15:26, 9 October 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 19:21, 28 February 2009 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 08:08, 7 March 2009 (UTC)
  • 2 UDScott 20:01, 9 March 2009 (UTC)
  • 2 Ningauble 22:44, 10 March 2009 (UTC)

You can be in the public eye all the time and still have a private life, but the important thing is to keep in touch with the people who put you there. ~ John Barrowman

  • 2 Zarbon 04:42, 10 March 2009 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 22:27, 10 March 2009 (UTC)
  • 2 Ningauble 22:44, 10 March 2009 (UTC)

The pioneer spirit is still vigorous within this nation. Science offers a largely unexplored hinterland for the pioneer who has the tools for his task. The rewards of such exploration both for the Nation and the individual are great. Scientific progress is one essential key to our security as a nation, to our better health, to more jobs, to higher standard of living, and to our cultural progress. ~ Vannevar Bush


I'm one of those people who has to write. If I don't write, I feel itchy and depressed and cranky. So everybody's glad when I write and stop complaining already.
~ Libba Bray ~

"The dark does not weep for itself because there is no light. Rather, it accepts that it is the dark. It is said that even the gods must die." He winks. "But not without one hell of a fight."
~ Libba Bray ~

In our travels, we have come across many equations — math for understanding the universe, for making music, for mapping stars, and also for tipping, which is important. Here is our favorite equation: Us plus Them equals All of Us. It is very simple math. Try it sometime. You probably won’t even need a pencil.
~ Libba Bray ~

Balder holds up a completely blank rune. Wyrd. The beginning and the end. Fate.
I don't know what that means, but it's not doing anything to uncreep me.
~ Libba Bray ~