“During the first half of the present century we had an Alexander von Humboldt, who was able to scan the scientific knowledge of his time in its details, and to bring it within one vast generalization. At the present juncture, it is obviously very doubtful whether this task could be accomplished in a similar way, even by a mind with gifts so peculiarly suited for the purpose as Humboldt's was, and if all his time and work were devoted to the purpose.” IfsKnowsWayMindFirstsAbleSciencePurposeHalfKnowledgeCenturyTasksDetailsAccomplishedDevotedDoubtfulGeneralizationScientific KnowledgeJuncture Author:Hermann von Helmholtz
“We tend to overestimate what we can do in a short period, and underestimate what we can do over a long period, provided we work slowly and consistently. Anthony Trollope, the nineteenth-century writer who managed to be a prolific novelist while also revolutionizing the British postal system, observed, “A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules.” Over the long run, the unglamorous habit of frequency fosters both productivity and creativity.” IfsLongRunningCan DoCreativityCenturyHabitPeriodsBeatsTasksBritishProductivityNovelistsLabourLong RunsConsistentlyUnderestimateFrequencyNineteenth CenturyOverestimateDaily Tasks Author:Gretchen Rubin
“Nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century exponents of prefabrication were certain it would supplant age-old traditions of individualized design and handcrafted construction. The building art would be revolutionized by freeing designers and construction workers from repetitive tasks, and democratized by making high-style architecture more affordable.” ArtWould BeAgeCertainCenturyStyleDesignBuildingTraditionTasksWorkersArchitectureDesignerConstructionTwentieth CenturyAffordableRepetitiveExponentsConstruction WorkersOld TraditionsHandcrafted Author:Martin Filler
“If within the last century art conceived as an autonomous activity has come to be invested with an unprecedented stature - the nearest thing to a sacramental human activity acknowledged by secular society - it is because one of the tasks art has assumed is making forays into and taking up positions on the frontiers of consciousness (often very dangerous to the artist as a person) and reporting back what's there.” IfsHumansPersonsArtLastsArtistConsciousnessCenturyDangerousPositionActivityTasksSecularFrontiersUnprecedentedStatureHuman ActivityAutonomousSecular Society Author:Susan Sontag
“The bourgeois thinkers of the eighteenth century thus turned Aristotle's formula on its head: satisfactions which the Greek philosopher had identified with leisure were now transposed to the sphere of work, while tasks lacking in any financial reward were drained of all significance and left to the haphazard attentions of decadent dilettantes. It now seemed as impossible that one could be happy and unproductive as it had once seemed unlikely that one could work and be human.” HumansLeftAttentionImpossibleCenturyTasksRewardsFinancialPhilosopherSatisfactionGreekSignificanceFormulasThinkerSpheresLeisureLackingUnlikelyBourgeoisDrainedGreek PhilosopherUnproductiveHaphazardDilettantes Author:Alain de Botton
“The idea of feminine authority is so deeply embedded in the human subconscious that even after all these centuries of father-right the young child instinctively regards the mother as the supreme authority. He looks upon the father as equal with himself, equally subject to the woman's rule. Children have to be taught to love, honor, and respect the father, a task usually assumed by the mother.” HumansLooksChildrenIdeasYoungMotherFatherSubjectsCenturyTaughtHonorEqualAuthorityTasksRegardSupremeLook UpFeminineSubconsciousEmbeddedYoung ChildrenHonor And Respect Author:Elizabeth Gould Davis
“Our law enforcement must have every tool necessary to find and disrupt terrorists at home and abroad. That's the task of the 21st century.” HomeLawCenturyToolsTasksTerrorist21st CenturyLaw EnforcementEnforcement Author:George W. Bush
“In the early nineteenth century, the doctrine of self-sufficiency came to apply to families as well as individuals.... The familybecame a special protected place, the repository of tender, pure, and generous feelings (embodied by the mother) and a bulwark and bastion against the raw, competitive, aggressive, and selfish world of commerce (embodied by the father).... In performing this protective task, the good family was to be as self-sufficient as the good man.” MenWorldWellsSelfFeelingsMotherFatherIndividualSpecialCenturyPureTasksSelfishDoctrinePerformingGenerousSufficientGood ManAggressiveProtectedCommerceProtectiveNineteenth CenturySelf SufficiencySufficiencySelf SufficientGood FamilySelfish World Author:Kenneth Keniston
“We must stitch up what has been torn apart, render justice imaginable in the world which is so obviously unjust, make happiness meaningful for nations poisoned by the misery of this century. Naturally, it is a superhuman task. But tasks are called superhuman when men take a long time to complete them, that is all.” MenWorldLongHas BeensHopeNationsJusticeCenturyLong TimeTasksMiseryMeaningfulUnjustTornSuperhumanStitchesTorn Apart Book:Lyrical and critical Source: Lyrical and critical
“Living becomes a glorious experience only when it is sweetened by tolerance and love. Willingness to compromise with others ways of living and cooperation in common tasks, these make living happy and fruitful. Certain modes of behaviour have been laid down and proved beneficial by centuries of practice.” WayHas BeensCertainCommonPracticeCenturyTasksAnd LoveDown AndToleranceCompromiseGloriousWillingnessCooperationBehaviourBeneficialLive Happy Author:Sathya Sai Baba
“Our task today is to bring India to the threshold of the twenty-first century, free of burden of poverty, legacy of our colonial past, and capable of meeting the rising aspirations of our people.” PeopleFirstsTodayPastPovertyCenturyCapableTasksIndiaTwentiesMeetingsBurdenLegacyAspirationRisingThreshold Book:Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi: statements on foreign policy, May-August 1985 Source: Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi: statements on foreign policy, May-August 1985
“Our task is to educate our children's whole being so they can face the future and make something of it. To achieve this we need to balance education for careers with education for twenty-first century life.” NeedsFirstsChildrenWholeFacesCareersAchieveCenturyBalanceTasksTwentiesOur ChildrenEducate Author:Ken Robinson
“To carry language from two dimensions into three is the task of the poets, and the rebels in the 20th Century.” TwoThreeLanguageCenturyPoetTasksDimensionsRebel20th Century Author:Terence McKenna
“One life is but a single act. One body - a garment. One century - a day. One task - an experience. One triumph - an acquisition. One death - a breath of renovation.” BodyLife IsCenturyTasksBreathsTriumphGarmentsAcquisitionRenovation Author:Andre Luiz Moreira