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Puzzled Quotes

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Puzzled Quotes

“My first degree was in mathematics. That was great, but it didn't help with many of the things that puzzled me. I became a philosopher because I wanted to understand everything, especially those things that didn't make sense. And that has continued to be my philosophical motivation. That's one reason I have such a roving philosophical eye - once I have figured out a philosophical topic to my satisfaction, I find myself moving on to new problems.”

FirstsReasonHelpingProblemEyeWantedMovingMotivationDegreesPhilosophicalMathematicsPhilosopherSatisfactionMake SenseTopicsPuzzledRoving
Author:David Papineau
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“Every two years the American politics industry fills the airwaves with the most virulent, scurrilous, wall-to-wall character assassination of nearly every political practitioner in the country - and then declares itself puzzled that America has lost trust in its politicians.”

YearsTwoCountryCharacterAmericaPoliticalPoliticsLostTrustWallIndustryPoliticianWittyTwo YearsDistrustAmerican PoliticsAssassinationPuzzledLove And TrustElection YearsElected LeadersCharacter AssassinationLost Trust
Author:Charles Krauthammer
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“I think bullfights are for men who aren't very brave and wish they were. If you saw one you'll know what I mean. Remember after all the cape work when the bull tries to kill something that isn't there? Remember how he gets confused and uneasy, sometimes just stands and looks for an answer? Well, then they have to give him a horse or his heart will break. He has to get his horns into something solid or his spirit dies. Well, I'm that horse. And that's the kind of men I get, confused and puzzled. If they can get a horn into me, that's a little triumph.”

IfsThinkingKnowsMenGivingTryingWellsLooksHeartKindMeanLittlesSometimesRememberSpiritDiesWishAnswersBreakSawsHorseBraveTriumphConfusedBullsHornsUneasyPuzzledCapes
Author:John Steinbeck
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“Perhaps there can be too much making of cups of tea, I thought, as I watched Miss Statham filling the heavy teapot. Did we really need a cup of tea? I even said as much to Miss Statham and she looked at me with a hurt, almost angry look, 'Do we need tea? she echoed. 'But Miss Lathbury...' She sounded puzzled and distressed and I began to realise that my question had struck at something deep and fundamental. It was the kind of question that starts a landslide in the mind. I mumbled something about making a joke and that of course one needed tea always, at every hour of the day or night.”

NeedsMindLooksKindSaidNightCoursesHoursHurtToo MuchMissingNeededJokesFundamentalsAngryHeavyCupsTeaRealisingFillingCups Of TeaPuzzledTeapotsLandslides
Author:Barbara Pym
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“In any case, fire burns; that's its nature, and you can't expect to change that. You can use it to cook your meat or to burn down your neighbor's house. And is the fire you use for cooking any different from the one you use for burning? And does that mean you should eat your supper raw?" Maddy shook her head, still puzzled. "So what you're saying is . . . I shouldn't play with fire," she said at last. Of course you should," said One-Eye gently. "But don't be surprised if the fire plays back.”

IfsShouldMeanDoeSaidStillsDifferentPlayUseEyeLastsCoursesHouseCasesFireCookingNeighborBurningCooksMeatSupperPuzzled
Author:Joanne Harris
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“Since the first human eye saw a leaf in Devonian sandstone and a puzzled finger reached to touch it, sadness has lain over the heart of man. By this tenuous thread of living protoplasm, stretching backward into time, we are linked forever to lost beaches whose sands have long since hardened into stone. The stars that caught our blind amphibian stare have shifted far or vanished in their courses, but still that naked, glistening thread winds onward. No one knows the secret of its beginning or its end. Its forms are phantoms. The thread alone is real; the thread is life.”

KnowsMenFirstsHumansHeartLongStillsRealEndsEyeFormCoursesLostStarsSecretForeverSawsSadnessWindStonesBlindFingersCaughtNakedBeachStaringSandThreadLeafsLinkedStretchingPhantomsHardenedPuzzledHuman EyesAmphibiansSandstone
Book:The Firmament of Time: A Library of America eBook Classic
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“If you ask a living teacher a question, he will probably answer you. If you are puzzled by what he says, you can save yourself the trouble of thinking by asking him what he means. If, however, you ask a book a question, you must answer it yourself. In this respect a book is like nature or the world. When you question it, it answers you only to the extent that you do the work of thinking an analysis yourself.”

IfsThinkingWorldMeanBookAsksAnswersTeacherTroubleAskingAnalysisPuzzledSave Yourself
Book:How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading
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“Throughout his life, Albert Einstein would retain the intuition and the awe of a child. He never lost his sense of wonder at the magic of nature's phenomena-magnetic fields, gravity, inertia, acceleration, light beams-which grown-ups find so commonplace. He retained the ability to hold two thoughts in his mind simultaneously, to be puzzled when they conflicted, and to marvel when he could smell an underlying unity. "People like you and me never grow old," he wrote a friend later in life. "We never cease to stand like curious children before the great mystery into which we were born.”

PeopleMindChildrenTwoLightLostGrowsBornAbilityWonderMagicMysteryFieldsLike YouUnityIntuitionSmellCeaseCuriousAweGravityCommonplaceBeamInertiaMagneticPuzzledSense Of WonderLater In LifeAccelerationChildlike WonderMagnetic Fields
Book:Einstein: His Life and Universe
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“My grandfather would have loved to have met you," he told her huskily. "He would have called you 'She Moves Trees Out of His Path.' " She looked lost, but his da laughed. He'd known the old man, too. "He called me 'He Who Must Run into Trees,'" Charles explained, and in a spirit of honesty, a need for his mate to know who he was, he continued, "or sometimes 'Running Eagle.' " " 'Running Eagle'?" Anna puzzled it over, frowning at him. "What's wrong with that?" "Too stupid to fly," murmured his father with a little smile.”

KnowsMenNeedsLittlesSometimesRunningMovingSpiritFatherLostKnownPathTreeStupidHonestyMetsOld ManLaughedMatesGrandfatherEaglesMy GrandfatherAnnaPuzzledFrowning
Author:Patricia Briggs
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“What did Isabelle want?" Jace asked. Alec hesitated. "Isabelle says the Queen of the Seelie Court has requested an audience with us." "Sure," said Magnus. "And Madonna wants me as a backup dancer on her next world tour." Alec looked puzzled. "Who's Madonna?" "Who's the Queen of the Seelie Court?" said Clary. "She is the Queen of Faerie," said Magnus. "Well, the local one, anyway." Jace put his head in his hands. "Tell Isabelle no." "But she thinks it's a good idea," Alec protested. "Then tell her no twice.”

ThinkingWorldWantWellsSaidIdeasHandsNextAudienceCourtLocalsQueensDancerGood IdeasWant MeJaceFaeriePuzzledBackup
Book:Cassandra Clare: The Mortal Instrument Series (3 books): City of Bones; City of Ashes; City of Glass
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“You’re not the only one who calls them that; the other Downworlders do the same,” said Will. “I discovered that fact while investigating the symbol. I must have carried that knife through a hundred Downworld haunts, searching for someone who might recognize it. I offered a reward for information. Eventually the name of the Dark Sisters came to my ears.” “Downworld?” Tessa echoed, puzzled. “Is that a place in London?” “Never mind that,” said Will. “I’m boasting of my investigative skills, and I would prefer to do it without interruption. Where was I?”

MindSaidFactsMightNamesDarkInformationSkillsHundredEarsRewardsLondonSymbolsKnivesBoastInterruptionsPuzzledInvestigatingSearching For Someone
Book:The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel; Clockwork Prince; Clockwork Princess
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“It's Will," she said. "He's being absolutely ridiculous in the dining room." Charlotte looked puzzled. "How is this different from him being totally ridiculous in the library or the weapons room or any of the other places he's usually ridiculous?”

SaidDifferentRoomsWeaponsLibraryRidiculousDiningPuzzledCharlotteDining Rooms
Book:The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel; Clockwork Prince; Clockwork Princess
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“D'you ever wonder what it would be like if our positions were reversed?' I ask. At Jack's puzzled look I continue. 'If we whites were in charge instead of you Crosses?' 'Can't say it's ever crossed my mind,' Jack shrugs. 'I used to think about it a lot,' I sigh. 'Dreams of living in a world with no more discrimination, no more prejudice, a fair police force, an equal justice system, equality of education, equality of life, a level playing field.”

IfsThinkingWorldMindLooksDreamWould BeUsedAsksForceJusticeLevelsWonderFieldsPositionEqualFairsCrossesPrejudicePoliceDiscriminationSighJustice SystemPlaying FieldsPuzzledPolice ForceLevel Playing FieldEqual JusticeNoughts And Crosses
Author:Malorie Blackman
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“The search for the purpose of life has puzzled people for thousands of years. That’s because we typically begin at the wrong starting point—ourselves. We ask self-centered questions like What do I want to be? What should I do with my life? What are my goals, my ambitions, my dreams for my future? But focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life’s purpose.”

PeopleWantShouldYearsSelfDreamPurposeAsksGoalOur LivesAmbitionStartingPurpose Of LifeShould ISelf CenteredMy FutureStarting PointMy AmbitionPuzzled
Book:What on Earth Am I Here For?
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“Steve has a reality distortion field.” When Hertzfeld looked puzzled, Tribble elaborated. “In his presence, reality is malleable. He can convince anyone of practically anything. It wears off when he’s not around, but it makes it hard to have realistic schedules.”

HardRealityFieldsConvinceRealisticSchedulesDistortionPuzzled
Book:Walter Isaacson Great Innovators e-book boxed set: Steve Jobs, Benjamin Franklin, Einstein
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“Her own body was such a familiar and unremarkable thing to her that she was puzzled by the convulsive ecstasy men could take from it, by the intense and amusing need they had merely to touch it, to reach out urgently and press it, squeeze it, pinch it, rub it. She did not understand Yossarian's lust; but she was willing to take is word for it.”

MenNeedsBodyWillingPressesLustIntenseFamiliarEcstasyReach OutAmusingPuzzledYossarian
Book:Catch-22: A Novel
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