“We’ve all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true.” –Robert Wilensky
“One of the infuriating absurdities in every injustice, especially one of inconceivable proportions like the German murder industry (with extensive European aid), is that the victims and their offspring remember and live it day in and day out. The perpetrators, however, repress and forget it, and it is easy for their offspring to ignore it.”–Amira … More Quote of the Day
“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” ― Plato
The family doctor we’d had for the past six years suddenly left his practice for undisclosed health reasons, and we assumed we would have a very hard time finding a new doctor. GPs are in short supply in British Columbia generally and seem to be in very short supply in Victoria. We have friends who … More Near Death Experience
“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.” ― Isaac Asimov
“Evolutionarily speaking, there is seldom any mystery in why we seek the goals we seek — why, for example, people would rather make love with an attractive partner than get a slap on the belly with a wet fish.” ― Steven Pinker, How the Mind Works
Extreme reactions to the attacks in Paris are to be expected, I suppose. But I was surprised to hear that so far some thirty-one states in the U.S. have decided not to accept Syrian refugees. They’re worried that Islamic extremists might sneak in with the refugees and launch attacks like the ones in Paris. I’m … More Fear of Syrians
“The moral courage required to hold a different view and to press it upon irritated readers or unsympathetic listeners remains everywhere in short supply.” ― Tony Judt, Ill Fares the Land
“If someone were told he had a year to get as good at either Russian or Hebrew as possible, and would lose a fingernail for every mistake he made during a three-minute test of his competence, only the masochist would choose Russian – unless he already happened to speak a language related to it.”–John McWhorter, … More Quote of the Day
“Believing, incorrectly, that you’ve done something healthy by taking a vitamin pill makes you more likely to take genuine, concrete, real-world risks with your health. It’s a chilling thought, but ideas aren’t without impact, and every time we humour a harmless myth – that vitamin pills are healthy, that some fashionable berry prevents cancer – … More Quote of the Day
No Harm Spilt 