“To include freedom in the very definition of democracy is to define a process not by its actual characteristics as a process but by its hoped for results. This is not only intellectually invalid, it is, in practical terms, blinding oneself in advance to some of the unwanted consequences of the process.” ProcessTermResultsDemocracyConsequenceOneselfDefinitionsPracticalsCharacteristicsUnwanted Author:Thomas Sowell
“If you listen to the urban speech patterns there you'll find it's quite characteristic that a sentence will begin in one language, go through a second language and end in a third. It's the very playful, very natural result of juggling languages. You are always reaching for the most appropriate phrase.” IfsEndsLanguageNaturalResultsSpeechThirdsIndiaPatternsSentencesPhrasesCharacteristicsReachingAppropriateUrbanJuggling Author:Salman Rushdie
“First, what is a revolution? Sometimes I'm inclined to believe that many of our people are using this word "revolution" loosely, without taking careful consideration [of] what this word actually means, and what its historic characteristics are. When you study the historic nature of revolutions, the motive of a revolution, the objective of a revolution, and the result of a revolution, and the methods used in a revolution, you may change words. You may devise another program. You may change your goal and you may change your mind.” PeopleMindFirstsBelieveMayMeanSometimesUsedGoalResultsStudyRevolutionProgramMethodCarefulObjectivesMotiveCharacteristicsConsiderationHistoricChanging Your Mind Author:Malcolm X
“The characteristic human trait is not awareness but conformity, and the characteristic result is religious warfare. Other animals fight for territory or food; but, uniquely in the animal kingdom, human beings fight for their 'beliefs.' The reason is that beliefs guide behavior, which has evolutionary importance among human beings. But at a time when our behavior may well lead us to extinction, I see no reason to assume we have any awareness at all. We are stubborn, self-destructive conformists. Any other view of our species is just a self-congratulatory delusion.” HumansWellsMaySelfReasonFightingBeliefReligiousHuman BeingsAnimalResultsViewsAwarenessBehaviorImportanceIndependenceAssumingSpeciesGuidesKingdomsCharacteristicsDestructiveDelusionNo ReasonConformityTerritoryTraitsWarfareStubbornExtinctionSelf DestructiveConformistAnimal Kingdom Book:The Lost World Source: The Lost World
“Always in the short story there is this sense of outlawed figures wandering about the fringes of society.... As a result there is in the short story at its most characteristic something we do not often find in the novel--an intense awareness of human loneliness.” HumansStoriesResultsNovelAwarenessLonelinessFiguresIntenseWanderCharacteristicsShort StoryFringe Author:Frank O'Connor
“Wherever in any society there are too many laws, it is a sure sign that that society will soon die. If you study the characteristics of India, you will find that no nation possesses so many laws as the Hindus, and national death is the result.” IfsLawDiesNationsResultsStudyIndiaCharacteristics Book:The Vedanta Philosophy: Art of living Source: The Vedanta Philosophy: Art of living
“The art of investment has one characteristic that is not generally appreciated. A creditable, if unspectacular, result can be achieved by the lay investor with a minimum of effort and capability; but to improve this easily attainable standard requires much application and more than a trace of wisdom. If you merely try to bring just a little extra knowledge and cleverness to bear upon your investment program, instead of realizing a little better than normal results, you may well find that you have done worse.” IfsTryingWellsMayLittlesArtDoneRealizingResultsEffortBearsNormalStandardsProgramLaysInvestmentInvestingCharacteristicsExtrasApplicationInvestorsCapabilityMinimumAppreciatedCleverness Book:The Intelligent Investor, Rev. Ed Source: The Intelligent Investor, Rev. Ed