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Happenstance Quotes

Browse 58 quotes about Happenstance.

Happenstance Quotes

“Significant inventions are not mere accidents. The erroneous view [that they are] is widely held, and it is one that the scientific and technical community, unfortunately, has done little to dispel. Happenstance usually plays a part, to be sure, but there is much more to invention than the popular notion of a bolt out of the blue. Knowledge in depth and in breadth are virtual prerequisites. Unless the mind is thoroughly charge beforehand, the proverbial spark of genius, if it should manifest itself, probably will find nothing to ignite.”

IfsShouldMindLittlesDonePlayCommunityViewsGeniusBlueMereDepthNotionAccidentsSignificantInventionManifestSparksBoltsSerendipityBreadthPrerequisitesIgniteProverbialHappenstance
Author:Paul Flory
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“The cry that 'fantasy is escapist' compared to the novel is only an echo of the older cry that novels are 'escapist' compared with biography, and to both cries one should make the same answer: that freedom to invent outweighs loyalty to mere happenstance, the accidents of history; and good readers should know how to filter a general applicability from a particular story.”

KnowsShouldStoriesAnswersFantasyNovelKnow HowCryParticularReaderMereAccidentsLoyaltyEchoesBiographiesFiltersEscapistsHappenstance
Book:The Road to Middle-earth: Revised and Expanded Edition
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“I would change very little because I have been very, very fortunate. A lot of things fell into place for me simply by happenstance. When that happens you don't really want to change anything, even if you could. Editorially my regrets are few and for the most part minor. I look back on my first published book and think I held on to it too long, babied it too long.”

IfsThinkingWantFirstsLooksLittlesLongHas BeensBookHappensChangeRegretFortunateMinorsHappenstance
Author:Michael Connelly
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