"It's easier to say something stupid than write something stupid."

Fred Jelinek See all quotes by Fred Jelinek →

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“It is generally believed that scientific talent reveals itself in early youth. This was certainly not my case. I somehow slid into my scientific profession. My mother wished for me to become a physician, just like my father. I myself wanted to be a lawyer, defender of the unjustly accused. But my career is the result of political circumstances, academic possibilities, and lucky accidents.”

“Every time I fire a linguist, the performance of our speech recognition system goes up.”

Resonant Thoughts

"Good free verse is not at all easy to write, for there is no repetitive beat to lull the reader's critical faculty, much pattern and discipline is to be found in it, though the pattern of sounds and c…"

— Marjorie Boulton

Literature1924–2017

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"Intimacy is not trapped within words. It passes through words. It passes. The truth is that intimates leave the room. Doors close. Faces move away from the window. Time passes. Voices recede into the …"

— Richard Rodriguez

Literature1958

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"A strict allegory is like a puzzle with a solution: a great romance is like a flower whose smell reminds you of something you can't quite place. I think the something is 'the whole quality of life as …"

— C. S. Lewis

Literature1925–1954

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"The Governing Senate. . . has deemed it necessary to make known... that the landlords' serfs and peasants . . . owe their landlords proper submission and absolute obedience in all matters, according t…"

— Catherine the Great

#time