Wildness Is A Necessity

Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.

-- John Muir, naturalist, explorer, and writer (1838-1914)

Indictments Of Civilization

One of the indictments of civilizations is that happiness and intelligence are so rarely found in the same person.

-- William Feather (1888-1981, American writer, businessman)

Acknowledge A Fault

Always acknowledge a fault quite frankly. This will throw those in authority off their guard and give you an opportunity to commit more.

-- Mark Twain, 1835 - 1910

Every Great Advance

Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority.

-- Thomas Huxley (1825-1895)

Our Memories Are Card Indexes

Our memories are card indexes -- consulted, and then put back in disorder, by authorities whom we do not control.

-- Cyril Connolly

To Punish Me

To punish me for my contempt for authority, fate made me an authority myself.

-- Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel laureate (1879-1955)

Unthinking Respect

Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.

-- Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel laureate (1879-1955)

Always Right

Under the law of war, the President is always right.

-- Justice Department representative Steven Bradbury; cited by Rosa Brooks, Los Angeles Times, July 14, 2006

Undesirable To Believe

It is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no ground whatsoever for supposing it is true.

-- Bertrand Russell, Sceptical Essays (1928), "On the Value of Scepticism"

One Of The Commonest Mistakes

It is one of the commonest of mistakes to consider that the limit of our power of perception is also the limit of all there is to perceive.

-- C. W. Leadbeater

The Power Of The Symbol

The power of the symbol comes from the nature of perception and thought. The train whistle makes us see the train, the footstep in the hall reminds us of the family relative. The oranges bring back the breakfast table.

-- Delmore Schwartz

Syd Barrett

My head kissed the ground
I was half the way down, treading the sand
Please, please, lift a hand
I'm only a person whose armbands beat
On his hands, hang tall
Won't you miss me?
Wouldn't you miss me at all?

-- Syd Barrett (January 6, 1946 - July 7, 2006), Co-founder of British psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd, lyrics to "Dark Globe" from the album "The Madcap Laughs"

Chastity Of The Intellect

Scepticism is the chastity of the intellect, and it is shameful to surrender it too soon, or to the first comer.

-- George Santayana, 1863 - 1921

What And How

Once the "what" is decided, the "how" always follows. We must not make the "how" an excuse for not facing and accepting the "what".

-- Pearl Buck

Free And Unrestrained Press

Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government.

-- Hugo Black, Supreme Court Justice

Skepticism A Virtue

Most institutions demand unqualified faith; but the institution of science makes skepticism a virtue.

-- Robert King Merton, sociologist (1910-2003)

Pessimist?

To the question whether I am a pessimist or an optimist, I answer that my knowledge is pessimistic, but my willing and hoping are optimistic.

-- Albert Schweitzer, philosopher, physician, musician, Nobel laureate (1875-1965)