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Quotes about thinking

552 quotes from 279 people

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If you tried to doubt everything you would not get as far as doubting anything. The game of doubting itself presupposes certainty.
Ludwig Wittgenstein1889–1951On Certainty (1969), 115
There is no more light in a genius than in any other honest man⁠—but he has a particular kind of lens to concentrate this light into a burning point.
Ludwig Wittgenstein1889–1951Culture and Value (1980), p. 41e
- Genius
If people did not sometimes do silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done.
Ludwig Wittgenstein1889–1951Culture and Value (1980), p. 50e
- Intelligence
Never stay up on the barren heights of cleverness, but come down into the green valleys of silliness.
Ludwig Wittgenstein1889–1951Culture and Value (1980), p. 76e
- Advice
- Intelligence
What has to be overcome is not difficulty of the intellect but of the will.
Ludwig Wittgenstein1889–1951Philosophical Occasions 1912-1951 (1993), Ch. 9: Philosophy (chapters 86–93 of the so called Big Typescript), p. 161
- Intelligence
As long as she thinks of a man, nobody objects to a woman thinking.
Virginia Woolf1882–1941Orlando: A Biography (1928), Ch. 6
- Women
Minds that have nothing to confer
Find little to perceive.
William Wordsworth1770–1850Yes, Thou art Fair, Yet Be Not Moved, st. 2 (1845)
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude
William Wordsworth1770–1850I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud (1807)In context
- Happiness
If you can’t think because you can’t chew, try a banana.
Lee Kuan Yew1923–2015Responding to a BBC reporter who suggested that Singapore’s draconian laws (including the ban on chewing gum) could stifle the people’s creativity (2000).
- Clever Jabs
I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe.
Frank Zappa1940–1993The Real Frank Zappa Book (1989), p. 239
- Comedy
- Intelligence
If those in charge of our society — politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television — can dominate our ideas, they will be secure in their power.
Howard Zinn1922–2010Declarations of Independence: Cross-Examining American Ideology (1991): “American Ideology”
- Ideas
- Power
The idea of a single eureka moment is a dangerous lie. It makes us feel inadequate since we haven’t had ours. It prevents people with seeds of good ideas from getting started.
Mark Zuckerbergborn 1984Harvard Graduation Speech (2017)
- Ideas