My Favorite Quotes
I have been collecting quotes for many years and thought sharing my favorites would be fun.
** “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” -Arthur C. Clarke
** “When the boss is a dope, everyone under him is a dope or soon will be.” -Jacob Rabinow
** “The probability of success varies inversely with the rank of the observers.” -Jacob Rabinow
** “The opposition to a new idea is directly proportional to its novelty.” -Jacob Rabinow
** Lenard Nimoy asked Phillipe Halsman a Life magazine photographer, about how he got involved with photography. “My career is rather like the story about the prostitute. When someone asked her how she got into her business, she said, ‘First I did it to please myself, then I did it to please my friends, then I did it for the money.’”
** When asked about why he hired prostitutes, Charlie Sheen answered, “I don’t pay them to come over, I pay them to leave.” There is some debate about Charlie Sheen saying this. I have modified this quote to apply to past jobs. “We don’t pay for a contractor to work; we pay them to leave.” Yeah… A lot of fun being a contractor.
** “All we are is dust in the wind. Dude.” -Ted Theodore Logan (Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure)
** “No need to give up a good theory just because it isn’t true.” -Billy Covington (Air America)
** “You are technically correct - the best kind of correct.” -Baron Bearington (Futurama)
** “So it’s sorta social. Demented and sad, but social.” -John Bender (The Breakfast Club)
** “Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.” -The Dread Pirate Roberts (The Princess Bride)
** “This is pure snow! Do you have any idea what the street value of this mountain is?” Charles De Mar (Better Off Dead)
** “Life without you was like a broken pencil. Pointless.” Edmund Blackadder III
** “As cunning as a fox who’s just been appointed professor of cunning at Oxford University.” Edmund Blackadder III
** “I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said, ‘... I drank what?’” -Chris Knight (Real Genius)
** “Death is a primitive concept. I prefer to think of them as battling evil in another dimension.” - Grig (The Last Starfighter)
** “I suspect it’s one of those great universal mysteries which will either never get explained or which will drive you mad if you ever learned the truth.” -G’Kar (Babylon 5)
** “Only one human captain has ever survived a battle with a Minbari Fleet. He is behind me. You are in front of me.” Delenn (Babylon 5)
** “Never have so many people understood so little about so much.” -James Burke
** “When you read a book, you hold another’s mind in your hands.” -James Burke
** “One likes to believe in the freedom of music, but glittering prizes and endless compromises shatter the illusion of integrity.” -Neil Pert
** “He’s old enough to know what’s right but young enough not to choose it. He wise enough to win the world, but fool enough to lose it.” -Neil Pert
** “The perfect is the enemy of the good.” -Neil Pert (from his video Taking Center Stage) But he was quoting Voltaire
** “Treat your password like your toothbrush. Don’t let anybody else use it, and get a new one every six months.” -Clifford Stoll
** “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home.” -Ken Olsen (Founder Digital Equipment Corporation)
** “The only women I understand are the ones I invent for my books, and half the time, I don’t understand them, either.” -John Steinbeck
** “The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong, it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair.” -Douglas Adams
** “I don’t do magic. I do science. One takes brains. The other takes dark eyeliner.” -Pickle Rick (Rick and Morty)
** “The universe is basically an animal. It grazes on the ordinary. It creates infinite idiots just to eat them.” -Rick Sanchez (Rick and Morty)
** “He’s not a hot girl. He can’t just bail on his life and set up shop in someone else’s.” -Beth Smith (Rick and Morty)
** “The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.” -Neil DeGrasse Tyson
** “Tip #268: Don’t feel insecure or inferior! Remember, you’re ORGANIC! You could win an argument with almost any rock!” -Firesign Theater
** “The only thing more dangerous than ignorance is arrogance.” -Albert Einstein
** “Don’t listen to the person who has the answers; listen to the person who has the questions.” -Albert Einstein
** “Stay away from negative people. They have a problem for every solution.” -Albert Einstein
** “There is a race between mankind and the universe. Mankind is trying to build bigger, better, faster, and more foolproof machines. The universe is trying to build bigger, better, and faster fools. So far, the universe is winning.” -Albert Einstein
** “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” - Albert Einstein.
** “In the real world, nothing happens at the right place at the right time. It is the job of journalists and historians to correct that.” -Mark Twain
What does my selection say about me? Clearly, I am a snarky individual who enjoys science. Have I created a famous quote? Of course! “Successful books are 99% self-promotion and 1% other.” Granted, that is an Edison rip-off. “Inventing is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration.” Still, I claim credit, which is an appropriate way to end an article full of other people’s work.
You’re the best -Bill
August 05, 2020 Updated March 29, 2025
** “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” -Arthur C. Clarke
** “When the boss is a dope, everyone under him is a dope or soon will be.” -Jacob Rabinow
** “The probability of success varies inversely with the rank of the observers.” -Jacob Rabinow
** “The opposition to a new idea is directly proportional to its novelty.” -Jacob Rabinow
** Lenard Nimoy asked Phillipe Halsman a Life magazine photographer, about how he got involved with photography. “My career is rather like the story about the prostitute. When someone asked her how she got into her business, she said, ‘First I did it to please myself, then I did it to please my friends, then I did it for the money.’”
** When asked about why he hired prostitutes, Charlie Sheen answered, “I don’t pay them to come over, I pay them to leave.” There is some debate about Charlie Sheen saying this. I have modified this quote to apply to past jobs. “We don’t pay for a contractor to work; we pay them to leave.” Yeah… A lot of fun being a contractor.
** “All we are is dust in the wind. Dude.” -Ted Theodore Logan (Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure)
** “No need to give up a good theory just because it isn’t true.” -Billy Covington (Air America)
** “You are technically correct - the best kind of correct.” -Baron Bearington (Futurama)
** “So it’s sorta social. Demented and sad, but social.” -John Bender (The Breakfast Club)
** “Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.” -The Dread Pirate Roberts (The Princess Bride)
** “This is pure snow! Do you have any idea what the street value of this mountain is?” Charles De Mar (Better Off Dead)
** “Life without you was like a broken pencil. Pointless.” Edmund Blackadder III
** “As cunning as a fox who’s just been appointed professor of cunning at Oxford University.” Edmund Blackadder III
** “I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said, ‘... I drank what?’” -Chris Knight (Real Genius)
** “Death is a primitive concept. I prefer to think of them as battling evil in another dimension.” - Grig (The Last Starfighter)
** “I suspect it’s one of those great universal mysteries which will either never get explained or which will drive you mad if you ever learned the truth.” -G’Kar (Babylon 5)
** “Only one human captain has ever survived a battle with a Minbari Fleet. He is behind me. You are in front of me.” Delenn (Babylon 5)
** “Never have so many people understood so little about so much.” -James Burke
** “When you read a book, you hold another’s mind in your hands.” -James Burke
** “One likes to believe in the freedom of music, but glittering prizes and endless compromises shatter the illusion of integrity.” -Neil Pert
** “He’s old enough to know what’s right but young enough not to choose it. He wise enough to win the world, but fool enough to lose it.” -Neil Pert
** “The perfect is the enemy of the good.” -Neil Pert (from his video Taking Center Stage) But he was quoting Voltaire
** “Treat your password like your toothbrush. Don’t let anybody else use it, and get a new one every six months.” -Clifford Stoll
** “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home.” -Ken Olsen (Founder Digital Equipment Corporation)
** “The only women I understand are the ones I invent for my books, and half the time, I don’t understand them, either.” -John Steinbeck
** “The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong, it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair.” -Douglas Adams
** “I don’t do magic. I do science. One takes brains. The other takes dark eyeliner.” -Pickle Rick (Rick and Morty)
** “The universe is basically an animal. It grazes on the ordinary. It creates infinite idiots just to eat them.” -Rick Sanchez (Rick and Morty)
** “He’s not a hot girl. He can’t just bail on his life and set up shop in someone else’s.” -Beth Smith (Rick and Morty)
** “The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.” -Neil DeGrasse Tyson
** “Tip #268: Don’t feel insecure or inferior! Remember, you’re ORGANIC! You could win an argument with almost any rock!” -Firesign Theater
** “The only thing more dangerous than ignorance is arrogance.” -Albert Einstein
** “Don’t listen to the person who has the answers; listen to the person who has the questions.” -Albert Einstein
** “Stay away from negative people. They have a problem for every solution.” -Albert Einstein
** “There is a race between mankind and the universe. Mankind is trying to build bigger, better, faster, and more foolproof machines. The universe is trying to build bigger, better, and faster fools. So far, the universe is winning.” -Albert Einstein
** “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” - Albert Einstein.
** “In the real world, nothing happens at the right place at the right time. It is the job of journalists and historians to correct that.” -Mark Twain
What does my selection say about me? Clearly, I am a snarky individual who enjoys science. Have I created a famous quote? Of course! “Successful books are 99% self-promotion and 1% other.” Granted, that is an Edison rip-off. “Inventing is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration.” Still, I claim credit, which is an appropriate way to end an article full of other people’s work.
You’re the best -Bill
August 05, 2020 Updated March 29, 2025
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