And the world will be better for this:
That one man, scorned and covered with scars,
Still strove with his last ounce of courage,
To reach the unreachable stars.
"The Impossible Dream," music by Mitch Leigh.
From the musical, "Man of la Mancha."
COURAGE; DREAMS; MEN & MALES; SACRIFICE; STARS; SUFFERING
19740000
Davies, Paul.
Yet there is a growing dissatisfaction with sweeping reductionism, a feeling that the whole really is greater than the sum of its parts. Analysis and reduction will always have a central role to play in science, but many people cannot accept that it is an exclusive role. Especially in physics, the synthetic or holistic approach is becoming increasingly fashionable in tackling certain types of problem.
However much we may feel free, everything that we do is, according to Laplace, completely determined. Indeed the entire cosmos is reduced to a gigantic clockwork mechanism, with each component slavishly and unfailingly executing it preprogrammed instructions to mathematical precision. Such is the sweeping implication of Newtonian mechanics.
The Cosmic Blueprint (1988, PM277), p. 11.
DETERMINISM; LAPLACE, PIERRE; LAWS OF NATURE; NEWTONIAN MECHANICS
19890808
The heart of the scientific method is the ability of the scientist to mirror or model events in the real world using mathematics.
The Cosmic Blueprint (PM277, Simon & Schuster, 1988), p. 12.
There exists alongside the entropy arrow another arrow of time, equally fundamental and no less subtle in nature. Its origin lies shrouded in mystery, but its presence is undeniable. I refer to the fact that the universe is progressing--through complexity--to ever more developed and elaborate states of matter and energy.... There has been a tendency for scientists to simply deny the existence of the optimistic arrow.
The Cosmic Blueprint (PM277, Simon & Schuster, 1988), p. 20.
When it comes to very highly organized systems, such as a living cell, the task of modelling by approximation to simple, continuous and smoothly varying quantities is hopeless. It is for this reason that attempts by sociologists and economist to imitate physicists and describe their subject matter by simple mathematical equations is rarely convincing.
The Cosmic Blueprint (PM277, Simon & Schuster, 1988), p. 22.
Conventional science attempts to explain things exactly, in terms of general principles. Any sort of explanation for the the shape of a snowflake or a coastline could not be of this sort.
The Cosmic Blueprint (PM277, Simon & Schuster, 1988), p. 22.
An important property of most cellular automata is that their rules are irreversible, i.e., not symmetric in time. They thus escape from the strictures of the second law of thermodynamics, which is based on reversibility in the underlying microscopic dynamics. For this reason,...the entropy of automaton states can decrease, and order can spontaneously appear out of disorder.
The Cosmic Blueprint (PM277, Simon & Schuster, 1988), p. 67.
AUTOMATA--ORDER; ENTROPY; ORDER--NATURAL; TIME SYMMETRY
19890824
It took von Neumann 200 pages...to prove rigorously that in it is possiblefor a universal construction to exist. He found, however, that self-reproduction can only / occur when the machine exceeds a certain threshhold of complication. This is a most significant result because it demonstrates that a physical system can take on qualitatively new properties (eg. self-reproducibility) when it possesses a certain level of complexity.
The Cosmic Blueprint (PM277, Simon & Schuster, 1988), pp. 68-69.
COMPLEXITY; CONSTRUCTOR, UNIVERSAL; NEWNESS; REPRODUCTION - MACHINES; VON NEUMANN, JOHN (1903-1957)
19890824
...an essential element in all mechanisms of self-organization is feedback.
The Cosmic Blueprint (PM277, Simon & Schuster, 1988), p. 69.
FEEDBACK; SELF-ORGANIZATION
19890824
In other words, there is more to a message than merely its information content; there is also the value or quality of the information that has to be taken into account.
The Cosmic Blueprint (PM277, Simon & Schuster, 1988), p. 77.
No longer is creation regarded as a once-and-for-all affair; it is an ongoing process which is still incomplete.
The Cosmic Blueprint (PM277, Simon & Schuster, 1988), p. ??.
CREATION, CONTINUING
19890916
Complete reductionism is nothing more than a vague promise founded on the outdated and now discredited concept of determinism. By ignoring the significance of higher levels in nature complete reductionism simply dodges many of the questions about the world that are most interesting to us....Defining a problem away does not explain it.
The Cosmic Blueprint (PM277, Simon & Schuster, 1988), p. 140.
On one occasion von Neumann was engaged in debate with a biologist who was trying to convince him of the / neo-Darwinist theory of evolution. Von Neuman led the biologist to the window of his study and said, cynically: 'Can you see the beautiful white villa over there on the hill? It arose by pure chance.' Needless to say, the biologist was unimpressed.
The Cosmic Blueprint (PM277, Simon & Schuster, 1988), pp. 170-1.
DARWINISM; EVOLUTION; NEO-DARWINISM
19891106
If neural processes are nothing but the motions of atoms and electrons slavishly obeying the laws of physics, then mental events must be denied any distincitive reality altogether, for the reductionist draws no fundamental distinction between the physics of atoms and electrons in the brain and the physics of atoms and electrons elsewhere....However, one problem is solved only to create another. If mental events are denied reality, reducing humans to mere automata, then the very reasoning processes whereby the reductionist's position is expounded are also denied reality. The argument therefore collapses amid its own self-reference.
The Cosmic Blueprint (PM277, Simon & Schuster, 1988), p. 189.
Science remains a sort of witchcraft, its practicioners regarded with a mixture of awe and suspicion....
God and the New Physics (PK263, Simon & Schuster, 1983), p. 3.
AWE; MAGIC; SCIENCE; SUSPICION; WITCHCRAFT
19850401
To claim that the deterministic nature of brain activity renders free will an illusion is as misconceived as the claim that life is an illusion because of the underlying inanimate nature of atomic processes.
God and the New Physics (PK263, Simon & Schuster, 1983), p. 97.
God and the New Physics (PK263, Simon & Schuster, 1983), p. 97.
GOOD & EVIL; MATTER; MIND; PERSONALITY
19850427
Davies, Paul, and Gribbin, John.
It was Newton who gave us the laws of mechanics and opened the way for the claim that all physical systems, all events, can be regarded as part of a vast mechanistic process. And it is this myth of materialism that is being laid as we move into the twenty-first century.
The Matter Myth. (FIUGL, Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, 1992), p. 8.
LAWS OF MECHANICS; MATERIALISM; MECHANISMS; MYTHS; NEWTON, ISAAC; PHYSICS
20051109
Davis, Jim.
People don't want nice...people want consistency.
Garfield Takes the Cake (PK149, Ballantine, 1982), 1/4/81.
CONSISTENCY; NICENESS
19830800
Day, Dorothy.
It is no use saying that we are born two thousand years too late to give room to Christ. Nor will those who live at the end of the world have been born too late. Christ is always with us, always asking for room in our hearts.
"Room for Christ,"
Quoted in: Christianity Today. (Dec. 14, 1984), p. 20.
JESUS THE CHRIST
19841215
Dickens, Charles.
So, throughout life, our worst weaknesses and meannesses are usually committed for the sake of the people whom we most despise.
Great Expectations (LQ184, Easton Pr, 1979), p. 212.
ACTIONS; MEANNESS; MOTIVATIONS; WEAKNESS
19830800
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,...—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
A Tale of Two Cities. (PD#, Laurel Leaf/Dell, 1963), p. 11.
It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.
A Tale of Two Cities. (PD#, Laurel Leaf/Dell, 1963), p. 480.
DEEDS, GOOD; REST
19700000
Dickson, Gordon R.
Why should there be some sort of virtue always / attributed to a frank admission of vice?
"Donal Graeme" in:
Dorsai! (PN047, 1982, 1960, 1959), pp. 207-8.
CONFESSIONS; EVIL - ATTRIBUTED VIRTUES; GOOD & EVIL; VIRTUES
19900126
He and those like him lose nothing in their own terms by trading a future that is valueless for them for a here and now that sees them get what they want.
"Hal Mayne" in:
The Final Encyclopedia (PN063, 1984), p. 587.
FUTURE vs PRESENT; IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION; VALUES
19900507
Dillard, Annie.
We as a people have moved from panthe/ism to panatheism. Silence is not our heritage but our destiny; we live where we want to live.
"Teaching a Stone to Talk,"
In: Powell, James N. The Tao of Symbols. (FIUGL, Wm Morrow, 1982), pp. 21-22.
As a rule...he (or she) who has the most information will have the greatest success in life....
In: Bolles, Richard Nelson. What Color is Your Parachute. (UoL, 1982) P. 38.
INFORMATION; SUCCESS
19820000
Donaldson., Stephen R
In the street, too many cars snarled and blared at each other, blaming everything except themselves.
"Unworthy of the Angel," in:
Daughter of Regals and Other Stories (HM221, 1984), p. 237.
AUTOMOBILES; BLAME; SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS
19890111
In other words, hope comes from the power of what you serve, not from yourself.
Lord Foul's Bane (PM034), p. 386.
HOPE
19870204
It makes an amazing difference when you have good, clear reasons for what you're doing. I think I used to have so many accidents because I was confused. In conflict with myself.
All power is an articulation of its wielder. There is no other source than life--and the desire of that life to express itself. But there must also be a means of articulation.
Hope came from the power and value of what was served, not from the one who served it.
White Gold Wielder (PM094, ), p. 67.
HOPE
19870602
Unearned knowledge is perilous. Only by the seeking and gaining of it may its uses be understood, it true worth measured....Unearned knowledge rules its wielder, to the cost of both.
White Gold Wielder (PM094, ), p. 360.
EXPERIENCE; KNOWLEDGE; LEARNING
19870611
Dong, Phan Van.
Waging a war is simple, but running a country is very different.
In: Newsweek. (December 29, 1986), p. 26.
GOVERNMENT; WAR & PEACE
19861231
Donne, John.
Let not my mind be blinder by more light
Nor faith, by reason added, lose her sight.
In: Johnson, L.D. An Introduction to the Bible (PGxxx, Convention Pr., 1969), p. vi.
BLINDNESS; FAITH; LIGHT; REASON; SIGHT
19760000
And I, which was two fools, do so grow three;
Who are a little wise, the best fools be.
"The Triple Fool"
In his: John Donne Poems (PI096, Dutton, 1931), p. 8.
FOOLS, WISE; WISDOM
19850419
Send me nor this, nor that, t'increase my store,
But swear thou think'st I love thee, and no more.
"The Token"
In his: John Donne Poems (PI096, Dutton, 1931), p. 50.
LOVE (ROMANTIC); PROOFS
19850400
Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so,
For, these, whom thou thinkst thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well,
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.
"Holy Sonnet X."
in: John Donne Poems (PI096, Dutton, 1931), pp. 252-253.
DEATH; DREAD; ETERNITY; PRIDE; SLEEP
19850400
The University is a Paradise. Rivers of Knowledge are there. Arts and Sciences flow from thence. Counsell Tables are Horti conclusi, (as it is said in the Canticles) Gardens that are walled in, and they are Fontes signati,Wells that are sealed up; bottomless depths of unsearchable Counsels there.
EDUCATION; GARDENS; PARADISE; RIVERS OF KNOWLEDGE; UNIVERSITIES
19840100
Dörner, Dietrich.
Moreover, it is far from clear whether "good intentions plus stupidity" or "evil intentions plus intelligence" have wrought more harm in the world.
The Logic of Failure (FIU, 1996, 1989), p. 8.
INTENTIONS; GOOD & EVIL; STUPIDITY; STUPIDITY; INTELLIGENCE; HARM
20001124
The positive consequences of violating safety rules reinforce our tendency to violate them, so the likelihood of a disaster increases. And when one does in fact occur, the violator of safety rules may not have another chance to modify his behavior in the future.
The Logic of Failure (FIU, 1996, 1989), p. 31.
DISASTERS; SAFETY RULES & REGULATIONS; VIOLATIONS OF RULES; CONSEQUENCES
20001124
Complexity is not an objective factor but a subjective one.
The Logic of Failure (FIU, 1996, 1989), p. 39.
COMPLEXITY
20001201
The dynamics inherent in systems make it important to understand developmental tendencies. We cannot content ourselves with observing and analyzing situations at any single moment but must instead try to determine where the whole system is heading over time. For many people this proves to be an extremely difficult task.
The Logic of Failure (FIU, 1996, 1989), p. 40.
SYSTEMS; DYNAMICS; TIME;DIRECTION; COMPLEXITY
20001201
The ability to admit ignorance or mistaken assumptions is indeed a sign of wisdom, and most individuals in the thick of complex situations are not, or not yet, wise.
The less information gathered, the greater the readiness to act. And vice versa.
The Logic of Failure (FIU, 1996, 1989), p. 101.
ACTIONS; DECISIONS; INFORMATION; THOUGHFULNESS
20010115
But life forces us to try to understand patterns in time.
The Logic of Failure (FIU, 1996, 1989), p. 108.
CHANGE; PATTERNS - RECOGNITION; TIME
20010115
If shown an incomplete spatial pattern, we will usually be able to identify it as incomplete and will often have ideas about how to complete it based on notions of symmetry (and asymmetry), repetition, and the like.
Even when we think in terms of time configurations, our intuition is very limited. In particular, our ability to guess at missing pieces (in this case, future developments) is much less than for space configurations.
In fact, people look for and find ways to avoid confronting the negative consequences of their actions.
The Logic of Failure (FIU, 1996, 1989), p. 177-8.
CONSEQUENCES; FAILURES--IGNORING; MISTAKES
20010122
Doss, Richard W.
...theology is more than a system of belief or recital of dogmas held by the Church. We need a theology that helps us make sense out of life, intellectually and emotionally. We need a theology that is responsive to the culture and the world in which we live.
The Last Enemy (HI113, Harper & Row, 1972), p. xiv.
Secularization has stripped death of the structure and meaning by which it was traditionally interpreted. The secular spirit leaves / death denuded, and thus we look on it as an accident or communicable disease.
The Last Enemy ( ,HI113), pp. 2-3.
DEATH; INTERPRETATIONS; MEANING; SECULARIZATION
19800615
Men [in pre-Twentieth Centry America] believed and felt that God had a purpose for life, and more, that every man could know and understand God's plan. Death was one element within this religious framework and thus could be dealt with openly and treated as a natural part of life.
The Last Enemy ( ,HI113), p. 7.
AMERICA; CHRISTIANITY; DEATH; GOD'S WILL; LIFE & DEATH;PURPOSE
19800615
The deficiency and the destructiveness of the American way of death is a rejection of our humanity. I refuse to allow a culture to deny and diffuse the meaning of my death lest it do the same to my life.
The Last Enemy ( ,HI113), p. 17.
AMERICAN CULTURE - DEATH; DEATH; LIFE & DEATH
19800615
If my anxiety about death helps me to face life right now in a realistic and responsible way, it should be considered normal anxiety. But if it paralyzes me and keeps me from making responsible decisions, it is destructive and neurotic. This anxiety blocks awareness and impedes consciousness.
The Last Enemy ( ,HI113), p. 41.
ANXIETY; DEATH
19800615
Death neither gives life meaning nor makes it meaningless. Instead, death is the reality which confronts us with the question of life's significance.
The Last Enemy ( ,HI113), p. 54.
LIFE & DEATH; MEANING
19800615
Dozois, Gardner.
Fantasy instead teaches us that there is something worthwhile you can do on the way to the grave: You can dream. And that maybe that dreaming is not only intrinsically valuable, for its own sake, but that sometimes the dream can take on a life of its own, a life that persists and that shapes and sometimes even ennobles the lives of others that it touches, sometimes long after the original dreamer is gone from this earth.
Modern Classics of Fantasy (HP114, 1997), p. xxiii.
FANTASY; DREAMS; INFLUENCE
19940303
Drucker, Peter.
Communication is the act of the recipient.
Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices
in: John L. DiGaetani, et al., Writing Out Loud! (FIUL, 1983) p. 22.
COMMUNICATION
19870526
Drumheller, Tyler.
Regardless of the nature of dramatic, over-heated rhetoric early in the struggle, in the end the American people always want the rule of law to prevail. That is what makes us a great country.
On the Brink. (HR137, Carroll & Graf, 2006) p. 40.
GREATNESS; LAW, THE RULE OF; RHETORIC; STRUGGLES; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
20061110
But torture is obviously wrong and, operationally speaking, it doesn't work. You can't trust intelligence that comes from someone who has been brought to within an inch of his life, and you certainly can't take it to trial.
On the Brink. (HR137, Carroll & Graf, 2006) p. 45.
ESPIONAGE; EVIDENCE; INTERROGATION; RIGHT & WRONG; TORTURE; TRIALS
20061110
Drumwright, Huber L.
In what sense is the Bible the word of God to men? / It is God's word in that it is a true record of the deeds of God, and the Christ-event is the climactic act of God. It is also the word of God in that within its revelation there is the power to create spiritual experience.
Saints Alive! (HH152, 1972, Broadman) pp. 100-101.
BIBLE; JESUS THE CHRIST; GOD'S WORD; EXPERIENCE, SPIRITUAL
20010423
Dvorak, John C.
In an effective system, information is distilled and organized in advance. This is called a book, and it will still be necessary in the future.
"Seven Great Myths of the PC World,"
in: PC/Computing, (November, 1990), p. 17.
BOOKS; INFORMATION
19901030
Dyson, Esther.
The moral of this story is that there are things a computer can help you with and things it can't. The trick is not to get in the habit of letting it help you too much, or you may never get around to the things you do best alone.
