“Alas, Islam turned against science in the twelfth century. The most influential figure was the philosopher Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali, who argued in The Incoherence of the Philosophers against the very idea of laws of nature, on the ground that any such laws would put God's hands in chains. According to al-Ghazzali, a piece of cotton placed in a flame does not darken and smoulder because of the heat, but because God wants it to darken and smoulder. After al-Ghazzali, there was no more science worth mentioning in Islamic countries.” WantDoeIdeasCountryHandsLawPiecesCenturyFiguresIslamPhilosopherChainsFlamesHeatIslamicAlsAlasLaws Of NatureInfluentialCottonIncoherence Author:Steven Weinberg
“We can't write a serious novel in the 21st century without acknowledging the inescapable self-awareness we're stuck with. The idea we're surrounded by falsehoods and lies. It's hard for the thinking person to believe in narratives. And yet we want some place to invest our belief.” ThinkingWantWritingBelievePersonsIdeasSelfHardLyingBeliefNovelCenturyAwarenessSeriousSelf AwarenessStuckNarrativeFalsehood21st CenturyThinking Person Author:Michael Helm
“There are Harvard grads, free thinkers, feminists, abolitionists, well-to-do people who want to go write poetry and live on a farm and cook and laugh and have a good time. As they themselves described it, it was an "inward facing" community. They were focusing on making a better existence for themselves, which I think is also the driving force of 20th century communalism in the US, the thought being that the world is corrupt, and we're going to build this little garden of innocence.” PeopleThinkingWorldWantWritingWellsLittlesForceCommunityExistenceLaughingCenturyGardenFeministDrivingInnocenceCooksGood TimesFarmsThinkerInward20th CenturyHaving A Good TimeHarvardDriving ForceAbolitionistGradFree ThinkersCommunalism Author:Christine Jennings
“I want to get the economy going again. It's not just enough about what we're against, as important as that is. I have a plan to create new jobs, manufacturing, infrastructure, clean energy jobs that will make us the 21st century clean energy super power. I also want to make sure small businesses can start and grow again.” WantImportantEnoughJobsEnergyGrowsEconomyPlansCenturyClean21st CenturySmall BusinessInfrastructureManufacturingNew JobClean EnergySuper Power Author:Hillary Clinton
“Electricity is but yet a new agent for the arts and manufactures, and, doubtless, generations unborn will regard with interest this century, in which it has been first applied to the wants of mankind.” WantFirstsHas BeensArtScienceInterestGenerationsMankindCenturyRegardAgentsElectricityNew AgeUnborn Book:Elements of Electro-Metallurgy, or the art of working in metals by the galvanic fluid Source: Elements of Electro-Metallurgy, or the art of working in metals by the galvanic fluid