Useless Quotes - Page 29

Kepler's discovery would not have been possible without the doctrine of conics. Now contemporaries of Kepler-such penetrating minds as Descartes and Pascal-were abandoning the study of geometry ... because they said it was so UTTERLY USELESS. There was the future of the human race almost trembling in the balance; for had not the geometry of conic sections already been worked out in large measure, and had their opinion that only sciences apparently useful ought to be pursued, the nineteenth century would have had none of those characters which distinguish it from the ancien régime.

Charles Sanders Peirce

Character, Science, Race

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The acquirements of science may be termed the armour of the mind; but that armour would be worse than useless, that cost us all we had, and left us nothing to defend.

Charles Caleb Colton

Science, Mind, Would Be

Charles Caleb Colton (1824). “Lacon, Or, Many Things in a Few Words: Addressed to Those who Think”, p.123

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True science is distinctively the study of useless things. For the useful things will get studied without the aid of scientific men. To employ these rare minds on such work is like running a steam engine by burning diamonds.

Charles Sanders Peirce

Running, Science, Men

Charles Sanders Peirce (1974). “Collected Papers”, p.32, Harvard University Press

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Without deductive logic science would be entirely useless. It is merely a barren game to ascend from the particular to the general, unless afterwards we can reverse the process and descend from the general to the particular, ascending and descending like angels on Jacob's ladder.

Alfred North Whitehead

Angel, Science, Games

Alfred North Whitehead (1967). “Aims of Education”, p.52, Simon and Schuster

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I happen to be a kind of monkey. I have a monkeylike curiosity that makes me want to feel, smell, and taste things which arouse my curiosity, then to take them apart. It was born in me. Not everybody is like that, but a scientific researchist should be. Any fool can show me an experiment is useless. I want a man who will try it and get something out of it.

Willis R. Whitney

Science, Men, Smell

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...culture is useless unless it is constantly challenged by counter culture. People create culture; culture creates people. It is a two-way street. When people hide behind a culture, you know that's a dead culture.

Muhammad Yunus

Counter Culture, Two, People

Muhammad Yunus (2010). “Building Social Business: The New Kind of Capitalism That Serves Humanity's Most Pressing Needs”, p.66, PublicAffairs

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Upon this subject, the habits of our whole species fall into three great classes--useful labour, useless labour and idleness. Of these the first only is meritorious; and to it all the products of labour rightfully belong; but the two latter, while they exist, are heavy pensioners upon the first, robbing it of a large portion of it's just rights. The only remedy for this is to, as far as possible, drive useless labour and idleness out of existence.

Abraham Lincoln

Work, Fall, Class

Abraham Lincoln (2008). “The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln”, p.412, Wildside Press LLC

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I have always sought to be understood and, while I was taken to task by critics or colleagues, I thought they were right, assuming I had not been clear enough to be understood. This assumption allowed me to work my whole life without hatred and even without bitterness toward criticism, regardless of its source. I counted solely on the clarity of expression of my work to gain my ends. Hatred, rancor, and the spirit of vengeance are useless baggage to the artist. His road is difficult enough for him to cleanse his soul of everything which could make it more so.

Henri Matisse

Art, Taken, Expression

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For a prayer oriented religion the concept of a personal God is needed - to relate to. For meditation-oriented religions God is a useless hypothesis; it can be discarded easily into the dustbin. It is not needed.

Rajneesh

Prayer, Meditation, Dustbin

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If soldiers are punished before they have grown attached to you, they will not prove submissive; and, unless submissive, then will be practically useless. If, when the soldiers have become attached to you, punishments are not enforced, they will still be unless.

Sun Tzu

War, Punishment, Soldier

Sun Tzu, Julius Caesar, Einhard, Niccolò Machiavelli, Carl von Clausewitz (2016). “Strategy Six Pack”, p.22, Lulu.com

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The attitude of gratitude is yoga. Ingratitude is "unyoga," like "uncola." Where gratitude is, there is yoga. Where there is ingratitude, yoga is gone. That mind which does not live in gratitude is just like a junkyard. There are great cars there, but they don't work; they are useless, because they are junk. What are you without gratitude?

Harbhajan Singh Yogi

Gratitude, Attitude, Yoga

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Some tools of thought are so blunt that they are almost useless; others are so sharp that they are dangerous. But the wise man will have the use of both kinds.

Gregory Bateson

Wise, Men, Tools

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It is useless to send armies against ideas.

Georg Brandes

Army, Ideas

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It is useless to close the gates against ideas; they overlap them.

Klemens von Metternich

Ideas, History, Gates

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The edifice of science not only requires material, but also a plan. Without the material, the plan alone is but a castle in the air-a mere possibility; whilst the material without a plan is but useless matter.

Dmitri Mendeleev

Science, Air, Castles

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Which of course is followed by: For those who have Awareness, a hint is quite enough. For the multitudes of heedless mere knowledge is useless. Haji Bektash Veli We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.

Marcel Proust

Spiritual, Journey, Hints

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All fear has ever done is hold me back. I have so many things I want to accomplish in my life. For myself and for the world. Fear is useless; it just gets in the way of accomplishing everything Overcome fear today and and confront one of your phobias.

Demi Lovato

Stay Strong, Overcoming, Done

Demi Lovato (2013). “Staying Strong: 365 Days a Year”, p.355, Macmillan

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Constant muscular activity was natural for the child, and, therefore, the immense effort of the drillmaster teachers to make children sit still was harmful and useless.

G. Stanley Hall

Education, Teacher, Children

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Well, every man has a religion; has something in heaven or earth which he will give up everything else for - something which absorbs him - which may be regarded by others as being useless - yet it is his dream, it is his lodestar, it is his master. That, whatever it is, seized upon me, made me its servant, slave - induced me to set aside the other ambitions a trail of glory in the heavens, which I followed, followed with a full heart. ...When once I am convinced, I never let go.

Walt Whitman

Letting Go, Dream, Giving Up

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I have found life highly competitive. I accept it. It is useless, merely a hypocritical humbug, to sincerely wish your opponent to win. If you are out to win you are better not wanting to know your opponent, much less grow to like him - and wish him, honestly success over you. I have never functioned that way.

Percy Cerutty

Sports, Winning, Over You

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Tribe follows tribe, nations follow nations like the tides of the sea. It is the order of nature, and regret is useless.

Chief Seattle

Regret, Native American, Order

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Any alliance whose purpose is not the intention to wage war is senseless and useless.

Adolf Hitler

Military, War, Rise To Power

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In this art form, in any art form, generalities are useless.

Zubin Mehta

Art, Crafts, Form

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The Arts are man's most useless ... and essential ... activity.

Eugene Ionesco

Art, Men, Essentials

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Nothing is more useless in developing a nation's economy than a gun, and nothing blocks the road to social development more than the financial burden of war. War is the arch enemy of national progress and the modern scourge of civilized man.

King Hussein I

Block, War, Gun

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