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Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson Quotes

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Famous Bill Bryson Quotes

“Being a pessimist is just such a gloomy way of looking at things, so I have to hope for the best - life wouldn't be worth living if we didn't have hope. And I also do think that human beings often do do wonderful, correct, brilliant things. So, on balance, I'd like to be optimistic about the future.”

IfsThinkingWayHumansHuman BeingsWonderfulBalanceBrilliantOptimisticMy WayWorth LivingPessimistGloomyHaving HopeHoping For The BestBeing Optimistic
Author:Bill Bryson
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“It is not true that the English invented cricket as a way of making all other human endeavors look interesting and lively; that was merely an unintended side effect... It is the only sport that incorporates meal breaks. It is the only sport that shares its name with an insect. It is the only sport in which spectators burn as many calories as players - more if they are moderately restless.”

IfsWayHumansLooksNamesSportsSidesInterestingBreakPlayerShareEffectsMealsEndeavorCricketInsectsRestlessSpectatorsLivelyCaloriesSide Effects
Author:Bill Bryson
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“If this book has a lesson, it is that we are awfully lucky to be here-and by 'we' I mean every living thing. To attain any kind of life in this universe of ours appears to be quite an achievement. As humans we are doubly lucky, of course: We enjoy not only the privilege of existence but also the singular ability to appreciate it and even, in a multitude of ways, to make it better. It is a talent we have only barely begun to grasp.”

IfsWayHumansKindMeanBookUniverseCoursesEnjoyAbilityExistenceTalentLessonsLuckyAchievementAppreciatePrivilegeMultitudesLiving Things
Book:A Short History of Nearly Everything
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“You don't have to know anything about baseball to respond to Babe Ruth because he's just this magnificent human being. And a really good story because he was this kid who grew up essentially as an orphan, you know, had a tough life, and then he became the most successful baseball player ever. But he was also a really good guy.”

KnowsHumansStoriesKidsGuyHuman BeingsSuccessfulPlayerGrewGrew UpToughBaseballMagnificentGood StoryGood GuyOrphanBabeBaseball PlayerRuthTough Life
Author:Bill Bryson
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“Because we humans are big and clever enough to produce and utilize antibiotics and disinfectants, it is easy to convince ourselves that we have banished bacteria to the fringes of existence. Don't you believe it. Bacteria may not build cities or have interesting social lives, but they will be here when the Sun explodes. This is their planet, and we are on it only because they allow us to be.”

BelieveHumansMayEnoughBigsSocialEasyInterestingCitiesExistenceSunProducePlanetsCleverConvinceFringeSocial LifeBacteriaAntibiotics
Book:A Short History of Nearly Everything
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“If you were designing an organism to look after life in our lonely cosmos, to monitor where it is going and keep a record of where it has been, you wouldn't choose human beings for the job. But here's an extrememly salient point: we have been chosen, by fate or Providence or whatever you wish to call it. As far as we can tell, we are the best there is. We may be all there is. It's an unnerving thought that we may be the living universe's supreme achievement and its worst nightmare simultaneously.”

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Author:Bill Bryson
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“Every living thing is an elaboration of a single original plan. As humans we are mere increments - each of us a musty archive of adjustments, adaptations, modifications and providential tinkerings stretching back to 3,8 billion years. Remarkably we are even quite closely related to fruit and vegetables. About half the chemical functions that take place in a banana are fundamentally the same as the chemical functions that place in you. It cannot be said too often: all life is one. That is, and I suspect will ever prove to be, the most profound true statement there is.”

YearsHumansSaidLife IsHalfPlansProveFunctionOriginalsMereProfoundFruitBillionsStatementsRelatedSuspectsChemicalsVegetablesAdaptationLiving ThingsAdjustmentStretchingBananasArchivesModificationFruits And VegetablesTinkering
Author:Bill Bryson
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