Bertrand Russel:
I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong.
A stupid man's report of what a clever man says can never be accurate, because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand.
Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.
If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way.
It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this.
Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so.
Patriots always talk of dying for their country but never of killing for their country.
So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in praise of intelligence.
The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution.
Douglas Adams:
He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife.
He attacked everything in life with a mix of extraordinary genius and naive incompetence, and it was often difficult to tell which was which. - Think that one pretty much sums up ENTPs.
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.
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.
A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.
Imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, 'This is an interesting world I find myself in, an interesting hole I find myself in, fits me rather neatly, doesn't it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!' This is such a powerful idea that as the sun rises in the sky and the air heats up and as, gradually, the puddle gets smaller and smaller, it's still frantically hanging on to the notion that everything's going to be alright, because this world was meant to have him in it, was built to have him in it; so the moment he disappears catches him rather by surprise. I think this may be something we need to be on the watch out for.
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? - One of my favoutites quotes ever.
I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting. But it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously.
George Carlin:
Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck.
Honesty may be the best policy, but it's important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy.
I think it's the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately.
Some national parks have long waiting lists for camping reservations. When you have to wait a year to sleep next to a tree, something is wrong.
The very existence of flamethrowers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, "You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done."
Well, if crime fighters fight crime and fire fighters fight fire, what do freedom fighters fight? They never mention that part to us, do they?
Oscar Wilde:
Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.
Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.
I think that God in creating Man somewhat overestimated his ability.
If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.
To disagree with three-fourths of the British public is one of the first requisites of sanity.
