English Quotes

Carstensen gave her hypothesis the impenetrable name socioemotional selectivity theory. The simpler way to say it is that perspective matters. #AtulGawande — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 16, 2025

Happiness is the state you enter when you no longer want to change your state. #JamesClear

Happiness is the state you enter when you no longer want to change your state. #JamesClear — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 15, 2025

If you refuse to realize the importance of the rules you are violating and act out of self-centered convenience, then you are appropriately and inevitably damned. The carelessness you exhibit with regard to your own tradition will undo you... #JordanPeterson

If you refuse to realize the importance of the rules you are violating and act out of self-centered convenience, then you are appropriately and inevitably damned. The carelessness you exhibit with regard to your own tradition will undo you... #JordanPeterson — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 15, 2025

There's nothing very professional or proprietary about 'Eat your greens,' so [nutritionists] have had to push things further. [But the technical interventions] they promote--the enzymes, the exotic berries--are very frequently not supported by convincing evidence. #BenGoldacre

There's nothing very professional or proprietary about 'Eat your greens,' so [nutritionists] have had to push things further. [But the technical interventions] they promote--the enzymes, the exotic berries--are very frequently not supported by convincing evidence. #BenGoldacre — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 15, 2025

Whatever be the actual state of the skill, dexterity, and judgment, with which labour is applied in any nation, the abundance or scantiness of its annual supply must depend [...] upon the proportion between the number of those who are annually employed. #AdamSmith

Whatever be the actual state of the skill, dexterity, and judgment, with which labour is applied in any nation, the abundance or scantiness of its annual supply must depend [...] upon the proportion between the number of those who are annually employed. #AdamSmith — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 15, 2025

...regardless of how high-tech your society might be, peace is an endless negotiation among free-acting agents whose wills cannot be engineered. Politics necessarily exist between even two individuals with free will #JennyOdell

...regardless of how high-tech your society might be, peace is an endless negotiation among free-acting agents whose wills cannot be engineered. Politics necessarily exist between even two individuals with free will #JennyOdell — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 15, 2025

The 'rise of the far-right' in particular is such a trope in journalism that the far-right is said to be rising even when it is collapsing, as it did in Britain during the last decade. #DouglasMurray

The 'rise of the far-right' in particular is such a trope in journalism that the far-right is said to be rising even when it is collapsing, as it did in Britain during the last decade. #DouglasMurray — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 15, 2025

As it is in politics, so it is in private and public companies. Fast-tracked diversity may promote the people who were nearest to their destination already. And very often these are the most privileged people of any group--including their own. #DouglasMurray

As it is in politics, so it is in private and public companies. Fast-tracked diversity may promote the people who were nearest to their destination already. And very often these are the most privileged people of any group--including their own. #DouglasMurray — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 14, 2025

If spending ten hours being trained helps you be even 1 percent more efficient at your job, then it's a good return on investment (1 percent of time saved per year is about twenty hours). #JulieZhuo

If spending ten hours being trained helps you be even 1 percent more efficient at your job, then it's a good return on investment (1 percent of time saved per year is about twenty hours). #JulieZhuo — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 14, 2025

In a world where most of the upper class was busily establishing pretensions to noble blood, the best way to bolster one's legitimacy was to marry someone who also had an august line of ancestors. #StephanieCoontz

In a world where most of the upper class was busily establishing pretensions to noble blood, the best way to bolster one's legitimacy was to marry someone who also had an august line of ancestors. #StephanieCoontz — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 14, 2025

People with advantages are loath to believe that they just happen to be people with advantages. #CWrightMills

People with advantages are loath to believe that they just happen to be people with advantages. #CWrightMills — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 14, 2025

42nd Street revealed the absurdity of human life: at the UN headquarters, diplomats discussed world peace with the utmost seriousness [...] at the same time, a sex shop tried to lure customers in to view a five-minute peep show for twenty-five cents. #QianNing

42nd Street revealed the absurdity of human life: at the UN headquarters, diplomats discussed world peace with the utmost seriousness [...] at the same time, a sex shop tried to lure customers in to view a five-minute peep show for twenty-five cents. #QianNing — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 14, 2025

Why hate someone for the color of their skin when there are much better reasons to hate them. #DenisLeary

Why hate someone for the color of their skin when there are much better reasons to hate them. #DenisLeary — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 14, 2025

We continue to seek hidden motives at larger social levels, taking inspiration from Thorstein Veblen, an economist and sociologist writing roughly a century ago. Veblen famously coined the term conspicuous consumption to explain the demand for luxury goods. #KevinSimler

We continue to seek hidden motives at larger social levels, taking inspiration from Thorstein Veblen, an economist and sociologist writing roughly a century ago. Veblen famously coined the term conspicuous consumption to explain the demand for luxury goods. #KevinSimler — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 13, 2025

To be shown love is to feel ourselves the object of concern: our presence is noted, our name is registered, our views are listened to, our failings are treated with indulgence and our needs are ministered to. And under such care, we flourish. #AlaindeBotton

To be shown love is to feel ourselves the object of concern: our presence is noted, our name is registered, our views are listened to, our failings are treated with indulgence and our needs are ministered to. And under such care, we flourish. #AlaindeBotton — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 13, 2025

Man exists. For him it is not a question of wondering whether his presence in the world is useful, whether life is worth the trouble of being lived. These questions make no sense. It is a matter of knowing whether he wants to live and under what conditions. #SimonedeBeauvoir

Man exists. For him it is not a question of wondering whether his presence in the world is useful, whether life is worth the trouble of being lived. These questions make no sense. It is a matter of knowing whether he wants to live and under what conditions. #SimonedeBeauvoir — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 13, 2025

Sensing that emoters, rather than calculators, are generally preferred as allies, our brains are keen to advertise that we are emoters. #KevinSimler

Sensing that emoters, rather than calculators, are generally preferred as allies, our brains are keen to advertise that we are emoters. #KevinSimler — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 13, 2025

What [the geriatric teams] did was to simplify medications. They saw that arthritis was controlled. They made sure toenails were trimmed and meals were square. They looked for worrisome signs of isolation and had a social worker check that the patient's home was safe #AtulGawande

What [the geriatric teams] did was to simplify medications. They saw that arthritis was controlled. They made sure toenails were trimmed and meals were square. They looked for worrisome signs of isolation and had a social worker check that the patient's home was safe #AtulGawande — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 13, 2025

Extremely depressed people have become disconnected from a sense of the future, in a way that other really distressed people have not. #JohannHari

Extremely depressed people have become disconnected from a sense of the future, in a way that other really distressed people have not. #JohannHari — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 12, 2025

A person does not choose a vocation. A vocation is a calling. #DavidBrooks

A person does not choose a vocation. A vocation is a calling. #DavidBrooks — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 12, 2025

He discovered that there are two different kinds of enjoyment. One is physical or bodily pleasure. At meal times, people report the highest levels of happiness, on average. People really enjoy eating, especially in the company of others... #JonathanHaidt

He discovered that there are two different kinds of enjoyment. One is physical or bodily pleasure. At meal times, people report the highest levels of happiness, on average. People really enjoy eating, especially in the company of others... #JonathanHaidt — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 12, 2025

...elites, experts, and professional classes, who had celebrated market-driven globalization, reaped the benefits, consigned working people to the discipline of foreign competition, and who seemed to identify more with global elites than with their fellow citizens #MichaelSandel

- June 11, 2025

...elites, experts, and professional classes, who had celebrated market-driven globalization, reaped the benefits, consigned working people to the discipline of foreign competition, and who seemed to identify more with global elites than with their fellow citizens #MichaelSandel — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 12, 2025

The reason I don't have a plan is because if I have a plan I'm limited to today's options. #SherylSandberg

- June 11, 2025

The reason I don't have a plan is because if I have a plan I'm limited to today's options. #SherylSandberg — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 11, 2025

If people were Superior to Animals, they'd take better care of the world #BenjaminHoff

- June 11, 2025

If people were Superior to Animals, they'd take better care of the world #BenjaminHoff — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 11, 2025

...the parallels between what the economy does to an ecological system and what the attention economy does to our attention. #JennyOdell

...the parallels between what the economy does to an ecological system and what the attention economy does to our attention. #JennyOdell — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 11, 2025

I want to be excited to wake up. I want to be excited to do my work. I want to feel like I'm playing when I'm doing my work. I'm very curious so I want to feel like a constant learner. I like having great conversations with interesting people #TimUrban

I want to be excited to wake up. I want to be excited to do my work. I want to feel like I'm playing when I'm doing my work. I'm very curious so I want to feel like a constant learner. I like having great conversations with interesting people #TimUrban — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 11, 2025

Tying happiness to the attainment of some future goal is like trying to catch up to the horizon. It's always going to be one step beyond your reach. #VishenLakhiani

Tying happiness to the attainment of some future goal is like trying to catch up to the horizon. It's always going to be one step beyond your reach. #VishenLakhiani — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 10, 2025

Alas, one cannot assert authority by accepting one's own fallibility. Simply, people need to be blinded by knowledge-we are made to follow leaders who can gather people together because the advantages of being in groups trump the disadvantages of being alone. #NassimNicholasTaleb

Alas, one cannot assert authority by accepting one's own fallibility. Simply, people need to be blinded by knowledge-we are made to follow leaders who can gather people together because the advantages of being in groups trump the disadvantages of being alone. #NassimNicholasTaleb — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 10, 2025

[Trauma helpers] don't attempt to reassure with false, saccharine sentiments. They don't say that the pain is all for the best. They don't search for silver linings. They do what wise souls do in the presence of tragedy and trauma. They practice a passive activism. #DavidBrooks

[Trauma helpers] don't attempt to reassure with false, saccharine sentiments. They don't say that the pain is all for the best. They don't search for silver linings. They do what wise souls do in the presence of tragedy and trauma. They practice a passive activism. #DavidBrooks — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 10, 2025

Always wanting more than we have, we run and run and run, like hamsters on a wheel. #JonathanHaidt

Always wanting more than we have, we run and run and run, like hamsters on a wheel. #JonathanHaidt — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 10, 2025

Each success only buys an admission ticket to a more difficult problem. #HenryKissinger

Each success only buys an admission ticket to a more difficult problem. #HenryKissinger — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 10, 2025

The real skill is not always to strive to make better choices; it's to know how to make our peace with our necessarily bad choices. #TheSchoolOfLife

The real skill is not always to strive to make better choices; it's to know how to make our peace with our necessarily bad choices. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 9, 2025

[The] riches you accumulate will just raise your expectations and leave you no better off than you were before. Yet, not realizing the futility of our efforts, we continue to strive, all the while doing things that help us win at the game of life [like hamsters]. #JonathanHaidt

[The] riches you accumulate will just raise your expectations and leave you no better off than you were before. Yet, not realizing the futility of our efforts, we continue to strive, all the while doing things that help us win at the game of life [like hamsters]. #JonathanHaidt — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 9, 2025

A manager's job is to... build a team that works well together, support members in reaching their career goals, and create processes to get work done smoothly and efficiently. #JulieZhuo

A manager's job is to... build a team that works well together, support members in reaching their career goals, and create processes to get work done smoothly and efficiently. #JulieZhuo — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 9, 2025

Introverts are capable of acting like extroverts for the sake of work they consider important, people they love, or anything they value highly. #SusanCain

Introverts are capable of acting like extroverts for the sake of work they consider important, people they love, or anything they value highly. #SusanCain — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 9, 2025

Companionate love grows slowly over the years as lovers apply their attachment and caregiving systems to each other, and as they begin to rely upon, care for, and trust each other. #JonathanHaidt

Companionate love grows slowly over the years as lovers apply their attachment and caregiving systems to each other, and as they begin to rely upon, care for, and trust each other. #JonathanHaidt — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 8, 2025

My contemplation is an excruciation only because it is also a joy. #SimonedeBeauvoir

My contemplation is an excruciation only because it is also a joy. #SimonedeBeauvoir — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 8, 2025

Judgment is the most important faculty we have. An animal, or a man, may get on very well without 'abstract attitude' but will speedily perish if deprived of judgment. Judgment must be the first faculty of higher life or mind #OliverSacks

Judgment is the most important faculty we have. An animal, or a man, may get on very well without 'abstract attitude' but will speedily perish if deprived of judgment. Judgment must be the first faculty of higher life or mind #OliverSacks — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 8, 2025

Empathy has to be forged by personal suffering. #TheSchoolOfLife

Empathy has to be forged by personal suffering. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 8, 2025

If you know what your purpose is, you can handle the setbacks. But when you don't know what your purpose is, any setback can lead to total collapse. As Seamus Heaney put it, You are neither here nor there, / A hurry through which known and strange things pass. #DavidBrooks

If you know what your purpose is, you can handle the setbacks. But when you don't know what your purpose is, any setback can lead to total collapse. As Seamus Heaney put it, You are neither here nor there, / A hurry through which known and strange things pass. #DavidBrooks — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 8, 2025

Change might not be fast and it isn't always easy. But with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped. #CharlesDuhigg

Change might not be fast and it isn't always easy. But with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped. #CharlesDuhigg — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 7, 2025

In order to generate thoughtful children, parents shouldn't insist on the rules of propriety without a commentary. They should help their children by opening their eyes to an implausible thought about human nature: the extent of the insecurity felt by [others] #TheSchoolOfLife

In order to generate thoughtful children, parents shouldn't insist on the rules of propriety without a commentary. They should help their children by opening their eyes to an implausible thought about human nature: the extent of the insecurity felt by [others] #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 7, 2025

They don't need a therapist; they need an algorithm. #BrianChristian

They don't need a therapist; they need an algorithm. #BrianChristian — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 7, 2025

In contact with certain pieces of music, our hearts--musical boxes of their own--start to follow the slower rhythms of voices and instruments; guided by the music, one's breathing grows more even and placid. #TheSchoolOfLife

In contact with certain pieces of music, our hearts--musical boxes of their own--start to follow the slower rhythms of voices and instruments; guided by the music, one's breathing grows more even and placid. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 7, 2025

Wouldn't it be better to spend our money on rescuing kids before they become addicts than on jailing them after we have failed? #JohannHari

Wouldn't it be better to spend our money on rescuing kids before they become addicts than on jailing them after we have failed? #JohannHari — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 6, 2025

In nationalist thought there are facts which are both true and untrue, known and unknown. A known fact may be so unbearable that it is habitually pushed aside and not allowed to enter into logical processes... #GeorgeOrwell

In nationalist thought there are facts which are both true and untrue, known and unknown. A known fact may be so unbearable that it is habitually pushed aside and not allowed to enter into logical processes... #GeorgeOrwell — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 6, 2025

The work of good science is to try and peer beyond the convenient lines we draw over nature. To peer beyond intuition where something wilder lives. To know that in every organism at which you gaze, there is complexity you will never comprehend. #LuluMiller

The work of good science is to try and peer beyond the convenient lines we draw over nature. To peer beyond intuition where something wilder lives. To know that in every organism at which you gaze, there is complexity you will never comprehend. #LuluMiller — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 6, 2025

Whatever the case, those around us tend to react [to originality] with surprise and, at the same time, shock. People instinctively dislike those things they can't understand. #HarukiMurakami

Whatever the case, those around us tend to react [to originality] with surprise and, at the same time, shock. People instinctively dislike those things they can't understand. #HarukiMurakami — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 6, 2025

...as this vision of sexual liberation dominated the feminist platform, not having sex--or only wanting vanilla sex or only having sex within the confines of monogamous, heterosexual relationships--becomes a sign that someone is allied with backward, conservative... #AngelaChen

...as this vision of sexual liberation dominated the feminist platform, not having sex--or only wanting vanilla sex or only having sex within the confines of monogamous, heterosexual relationships--becomes a sign that someone is allied with backward, conservative... #AngelaChen — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 5, 2025

Other animals can make sounds, and sounds can indicate pleasure and pain. But language, a distinctly human capacity, isn織t just for registering pleasure and pain. It織s about declaring what is just and what is unjust, and distinguishing right from wrong. #MichaelSandel

Other animals can make sounds, and sounds can indicate pleasure and pain. But language, a distinctly human capacity, isn織t just for registering pleasure and pain. It織s about declaring what is just and what is unjust, and distinguishing right from wrong. #MichaelSandel — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 5, 2025

What is troubling us is the tendency to believe that the mind is like a little man within. #LudwigWittgenstein

What is troubling us is the tendency to believe that the mind is like a little man within. #LudwigWittgenstein — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 5, 2025

We do not become satisfied by leading a peaceful and prosperous existence. Rather, we become satisfied when reality matches our expectations. The bad news is that as conditions improve, expectations balloon. #YuvalNoahHarari

We do not become satisfied by leading a peaceful and prosperous existence. Rather, we become satisfied when reality matches our expectations. The bad news is that as conditions improve, expectations balloon. #YuvalNoahHarari — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 5, 2025

Dealing with nation states [fake information] is a lot harder because they're more kind of ideological or sovereignty-motivated so there I think you just need to be very vigilant #MarkZuckerberg

Dealing with nation states [fake information] is a lot harder because they're more kind of ideological or sovereignty-motivated so there I think you just need to be very vigilant #MarkZuckerberg — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 5, 2025

An atomic habit is a little habit that is part of a larger system. Just as atoms are the building blocks of molecules, atomic habits are the building blocks of remarkable results. #JamesClear

An atomic habit is a little habit that is part of a larger system. Just as atoms are the building blocks of molecules, atomic habits are the building blocks of remarkable results. #JamesClear — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 4, 2025

The problem at present is not the disparity, but the certainty--the spurious certainty with which an unbelievably unclear issue is presented as though it was the clearest and best understood thing imaginable. #DouglasMurray

The problem at present is not the disparity, but the certainty--the spurious certainty with which an unbelievably unclear issue is presented as though it was the clearest and best understood thing imaginable. #DouglasMurray — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 4, 2025

Don't be too ambitious. Do the most important thing you can think of doing every year and then your career will take care of itself. #HenryKissinger

Don't be too ambitious. Do the most important thing you can think of doing every year and then your career will take care of itself. #HenryKissinger — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 4, 2025

The world beyond will always resist our efforts to bend it to our will, but in the garden, with some effort, regular watering and some luck with the sun, we can for brief weeks be the midwives to something as visually seductive as it is cheering. #TheSchoolOfLife

The world beyond will always resist our efforts to bend it to our will, but in the garden, with some effort, regular watering and some luck with the sun, we can for brief weeks be the midwives to something as visually seductive as it is cheering. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 4, 2025

[Socrates] recommended systematically asking ourselves [like]: what are my priorities? What do I really fear? What do I truly want? Investigating and interpreting our thoughts and feelings was, and remains, the essence of what it means to be a philosopher. #TheSchoolOfLife

[Socrates] recommended systematically asking ourselves [like]: what are my priorities? What do I really fear? What do I truly want? Investigating and interpreting our thoughts and feelings was, and remains, the essence of what it means to be a philosopher. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 3, 2025

Whatever our political leanings, we all feel nervous about profit taking any role in the caring professions, but that feeling has nowhere to go. #BenGoldacre

Whatever our political leanings, we all feel nervous about profit taking any role in the caring professions, but that feeling has nowhere to go. #BenGoldacre — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 3, 2025

Love is the strongest force the world possesses and yet it is the humblest imaginable. #MahatmaGandhi

Love is the strongest force the world possesses and yet it is the humblest imaginable. #MahatmaGandhi — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 3, 2025

A succession of philosophers and historians spent their time studiously attempting to say nothing as successfully as possible. #DouglasMurray

A succession of philosophers and historians spent their time studiously attempting to say nothing as successfully as possible. #DouglasMurray — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 3, 2025

A dominant impulse on encountering beauty is to wish to hold on to it, to possess it and give it weight in one's life. There is an urge to say, 'I was here, I saw this and it mattered to me.' #AlaindeBotton

A dominant impulse on encountering beauty is to wish to hold on to it, to possess it and give it weight in one's life. There is an urge to say, 'I was here, I saw this and it mattered to me.' #AlaindeBotton — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 3, 2025

If we accept that sex is merely a service that can be freely bought and sold, then we have no arguments left to make against the incels who want to 'redistribute' it or the army officials who want to offer their troops 'convenient arrangements'. #LouisePerry

If we accept that sex is merely a service that can be freely bought and sold, then we have no arguments left to make against the incels who want to 'redistribute' it or the army officials who want to offer their troops 'convenient arrangements'. #LouisePerry — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 2, 2025

The beginning of thought is in disagreement - not only with others but also with ourselves. #EricHoffer

The beginning of thought is in disagreement - not only with others but also with ourselves. #EricHoffer — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 2, 2025

Each year, about 350,000 Americans fall and break a hip. Of those, 40 percent end up in a nursing home, and 20 percent are never able to walk again. #AtulGawande

Each year, about 350,000 Americans fall and break a hip. Of those, 40 percent end up in a nursing home, and 20 percent are never able to walk again. #AtulGawande — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 2, 2025

It grabs the wrist of the other hand and tries to stop it from executing the person's conscious plans. Sometimes, the alien hand actually reaches for the person's own neck and tries to strangle him. #JonathanHaidt

It grabs the wrist of the other hand and tries to stop it from executing the person's conscious plans. Sometimes, the alien hand actually reaches for the person's own neck and tries to strangle him. #JonathanHaidt — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 1, 2025

No one ever really has control. Physics and biology and accident ultimately have their way in our lives. But the point is that we are not helpless either. Courage is the strength to recognize both realities. We have room to act, to shape our stories... #AtulGawande

No one ever really has control. Physics and biology and accident ultimately have their way in our lives. But the point is that we are not helpless either. Courage is the strength to recognize both realities. We have room to act, to shape our stories... #AtulGawande — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Jun 1, 2025

Jesus preached only love, and the Inquisition was based on a horrific distortion of his teachings. We can sympathise with this claim, but it would be a mistake to let Christianity off the hook so easily. #YuvalNoahHarari