certainty

Link	Quote	Tags	Author
8fa06b9	I like the scientific spirit--the holding off, the being sure but not too sure, the willingness to surrender ideas when the evidence is against them: this is ultimately fine--it always keeps the way beyond open--always gives life, thought, affection, the whole man, a chance to try over again after a mistake--after a wrong guess.	doubt science life scientific guess certainty skepticism humble evidence mistake ideas surrender thought	Walt Whitman
a33ec2c	To learn which questions are unanswerable, and : this skill is most needful in times of stress and darkness.	policy certainty humility knowledge	Ursula K. Le Guin
c43692b	A woman's guess is much more accurate than a man's certainty.	men women guesses certainty gender	Rudyard Kipling
2494556	"I'm a girl." When Deryn opened her eyes, the lady boffin was staring at her with no change of expression. "Indeed," she said. Deryn's mouth feel open. "You mean you...Did you barking ?" "I had no idea at all. But I make it a policy never to appear surprised." Dr. Barlow sighed, staring out the window. "Though on this occasion, it is proving rather more demanding than usual. A girl, you say? And you're quite certain?"	leviathant goliath deryn scott-westerfeld certainty sharp girl	Scott Westerfeld
99161a9	At the core of all well-founded belief lies belief that is unfounded.	certainty	Ludwig Wittgenstein
1f74416	"My mother and father were always pushing me away from secondhand answers--even the answers they themselves believed. I don't know that I have ever found any satisfactory answers of my own. But every time I ask it, the question is refined. That is the best of what the old heads meant when they spoke of being "politically conscious"--as much a series of actions as a state of being, a constant questioning, questioning as ritual, questioning as exploration rather than the search for certainty."	meaning life certainty questioning questions searching	Ta-Nehisi Coates
e737f9a	Certainty. Life's last and kindest gift.	sleep death-and-dying death czech-literature 20th-century-literature gallows-humor certainty bliss endings cynicism gifts	Milan Kundera
e2875cf	The South African artist William Kentridge speaks to this type of certainty: 'To say that one needs art, or politics, that incorporate ambiguity and contradiction is not to say that one then stops recognizing and condemning things as evil. However, it might stop one being so utterly convinced of the certainty of one's own solutions. There needs to be a strong understanding of fallibility and how the very act of certainty or authoritativeness can bring disasters.' The outcome of the current crisis is already determined.	faith certainty	Nick Flynn
1ca748a	In the presence of Esch, values have hidden their faces. Order, loyalty, sacrifice--he cherishes all these words, but exactly what do they represent? Sacrifice for what? Demand what sort of order? He doesn't know. If a value has lost its concrete content, what is left of it? A mere empty form; an imperative that goes unheeded and, all the more furious, demands to be heard and obeyed. The less Esch knows what he wants, the more furiously he wants it. Esch: the fanaticism of the era with no God. Because all values have hidden their faces, anything can be considered a value. Justice, order--Esch seeks them now in the trade union struggle, then in religion; today in police power, tomorrow in the mirage of America, where he dreams of emigrating. He could be a terrorist or a repentant terrorist turning in his comrades, or a party militant or a cult member a kamikaze prepared to sacrifice his life. All the passions rampaging through the bloody history of our time are taken up, unmasked, and terrifyingly displayed in Esch's modest adventure.	sacrifice esch sleepwalkers imperative broch cult post-modern modern certainty purpose-of-life order symbolic existentialism fanaticism novel values loyalty	Milan Kundera
579e132	Lately Kevin has been bothering himself with the idea that nothing is certain, nothing can be proven. Not one thing, not in all the world. The sun will rise tomorrow. The sun rose this morning. The sun is in the sky. There's a sun at all. The world is like a box of Kleenex, every doubt pulling another along behind it. You can always find a new reason to distrust the facts.	doubt certainty proof	Kevin Brockmeier
5ba3ad7	I remember laughing at that moment, and I remember my son frowning at me in puzzlement. What I remember best of all, though, was the sudden certainty that the gods were with me, that they would fight for me, that my sword would be their sword. 'We're going to win,' I told my son. I felt as if Odin or Thor had touched me. I had never felt more alive and never felt more certain. I knew there would be no more mistakes and that this was no dream. I had come to Bebbanburg and Bebbanburg would be mine.	thor best bebbanburg frowning puzzlement touched were mine odin certainty laughing me gods son moment mistakes remember sudden fight swords	Bernard Cornwell
ba49e76	What could Maria call the time that opened ahead of her? The certainty of her hope? This rejuvenated air she was breathing? This incandescence, this bursting of a love at last without object?	time hope love breathing-room certainty	Marguerite Duras
d503bb8	For everyone nowadays knows, absolutely certain, that nothing will ever happen to me. Others die, I go on.	mortality immortality life certainty delusion	Ray Bradbury
b999ca9	Looking up at the stars and smoking in silence.	silence stars romance elizabeth-wein ellen-mcewen the-pearl-thief julie certainty smoking	Elizabeth Wein
e4478bb	If there was no imperative, it was not love.	fate love certainty predestined	Rachel Kushner

8fa06b9

I like the scientific spirit--the holding off, the being sure but not too sure, the willingness to surrender ideas when the evidence is against them: this is ultimately fine--it always keeps the way beyond open--always gives life, thought, affection, the whole man, a chance to try over again after a mistake--after a wrong guess.

doubt science life scientific guess certainty skepticism humble evidence mistake ideas surrender thought

Walt Whitman

a33ec2c

To learn which questions are unanswerable, and : this skill is most needful in times of stress and darkness.

policy certainty humility knowledge

Ursula K. Le Guin

c43692b

A woman's guess is much more accurate than a man's certainty.

men women guesses certainty gender

Rudyard Kipling

2494556

"I'm a girl." When Deryn opened her eyes, the lady boffin was staring at her with no change of expression. "Indeed," she said. Deryn's mouth feel open. "You mean you...Did you barking ?" "I had no idea at all. But I make it a policy never to appear surprised." Dr. Barlow sighed, staring out the window. "Though on this occasion, it is proving rather more demanding than usual. A girl, you say? And you're quite certain?"

leviathant goliath deryn scott-westerfeld certainty sharp girl

Scott Westerfeld

99161a9

At the core of all well-founded belief lies belief that is unfounded.

certainty

Ludwig Wittgenstein

1f74416

"My mother and father were always pushing me away from secondhand answers--even the answers they themselves believed. I don't know that I have ever found any satisfactory answers of my own. But every time I ask it, the question is refined. That is the best of what the old heads meant when they spoke of being "politically conscious"--as much a series of actions as a state of being, a constant questioning, questioning as ritual, questioning as exploration rather than the search for certainty."

meaning life certainty questioning questions searching

Ta-Nehisi Coates

e737f9a

Certainty. Life's last and kindest gift.

sleep death-and-dying death czech-literature 20th-century-literature gallows-humor certainty bliss endings cynicism gifts

Milan Kundera

e2875cf

The South African artist William Kentridge speaks to this type of certainty: 'To say that one needs art, or politics, that incorporate ambiguity and contradiction is not to say that one then stops recognizing and condemning things as evil. However, it might stop one being so utterly convinced of the certainty of one's own solutions. There needs to be a strong understanding of fallibility and how the very act of certainty or authoritativeness can bring disasters.' The outcome of the current crisis is already determined.

faith certainty

Nick Flynn

1ca748a

In the presence of Esch, values have hidden their faces. Order, loyalty, sacrifice--he cherishes all these words, but exactly what do they represent? Sacrifice for what? Demand what sort of order? He doesn't know. If a value has lost its concrete content, what is left of it? A mere empty form; an imperative that goes unheeded and, all the more furious, demands to be heard and obeyed. The less Esch knows what he wants, the more furiously he wants it. Esch: the fanaticism of the era with no God. Because all values have hidden their faces, anything can be considered a value. Justice, order--Esch seeks them now in the trade union struggle, then in religion; today in police power, tomorrow in the mirage of America, where he dreams of emigrating. He could be a terrorist or a repentant terrorist turning in his comrades, or a party militant or a cult member a kamikaze prepared to sacrifice his life. All the passions rampaging through the bloody history of our time are taken up, unmasked, and terrifyingly displayed in Esch's modest adventure.

sacrifice esch sleepwalkers imperative broch cult post-modern modern certainty purpose-of-life order symbolic existentialism fanaticism novel values loyalty

Milan Kundera

579e132

Lately Kevin has been bothering himself with the idea that nothing is certain, nothing can be proven. Not one thing, not in all the world. The sun will rise tomorrow. The sun rose this morning. The sun is in the sky. There's a sun at all. The world is like a box of Kleenex, every doubt pulling another along behind it. You can always find a new reason to distrust the facts.

doubt certainty proof

Kevin Brockmeier

5ba3ad7

I remember laughing at that moment, and I remember my son frowning at me in puzzlement. What I remember best of all, though, was the sudden certainty that the gods were with me, that they would fight for me, that my sword would be their sword. 'We're going to win,' I told my son. I felt as if Odin or Thor had touched me. I had never felt more alive and never felt more certain. I knew there would be no more mistakes and that this was no dream. I had come to Bebbanburg and Bebbanburg would be mine.

thor best bebbanburg frowning puzzlement touched were mine odin certainty laughing me gods son moment mistakes remember sudden fight swords

Bernard Cornwell

ba49e76

What could Maria call the time that opened ahead of her? The certainty of her hope? This rejuvenated air she was breathing? This incandescence, this bursting of a love at last without object?

time hope love breathing-room certainty

Marguerite Duras

d503bb8

For everyone nowadays knows, absolutely certain, that nothing will ever happen to me. Others die, I go on.

mortality immortality life certainty delusion

Ray Bradbury

b999ca9

Looking up at the stars and smoking in silence.

silence stars romance elizabeth-wein ellen-mcewen the-pearl-thief julie certainty smoking

Elizabeth Wein

e4478bb

If there was no imperative, it was not love.

fate love certainty predestined

Rachel Kushner