Always behave like a duck- keep calm and unruffled on the surface but paddle like the devil underneath.

Always behave like a duck- keep calm and unruffled on the surface but paddle like the devil underneath.

Obscurity is the refuge of incompetence.

Obscurity is the refuge of incompetence.

If you hate something thoroughly without knowing why, you can be sure there is something of it in your own read more

If you hate something thoroughly without knowing why, you can be sure there is something of it in your own nature.

Impartial observers from other planets would consider ours an utterly bizarre enclave if it were populated by birds, defined as read more

Impartial observers from other planets would consider ours an utterly bizarre enclave if it were populated by birds, defined as flying animals, that nevertheless rarely or never actually flew. They would also be perplexed if they encountered in our seas, lakes, rivers, and ponds, creatures defined as swimmers that never did any swimming. But they would be even more surprised to encounter a species defined as a thinking animal if, in fact, the creature very rarely indulged in actual thinking.

We usually see only the things we are looking for- so much so that we sometimes see them where they read more

We usually see only the things we are looking for- so much so that we sometimes see them where they are not.

Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.

Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.

There is only one honest impulse at the bottom of Puritanism, and that is the impulse to punish the man read more

There is only one honest impulse at the bottom of Puritanism, and that is the impulse to punish the man with a superior capacity for happiness.

Passion holds up the botton of the world, while genius paints its roof.

Passion holds up the botton of the world, while genius paints its roof.

Language was invented to ask questions. Answers may be given by grunts and gestures, but questions must be spoken. Humanness read more

Language was invented to ask questions. Answers may be given by grunts and gestures, but questions must be spoken. Humanness came of age when man asked the first question. Social stagnation results not from a lack of answers but from the absence of the impulse to ask questions.