“If it is possible to have a linear unit that depends on no other quantity, it would seem natural to prefer it. Moreover, a mensural unit taken from the earth itself offers another advantage, that of being perfectly analogous to all the real measurements that in ordinary usage are also made upon the earth, such as the distance between two places or the area of some tract, for example. It is far more natural in practice to refer geographical distances to a quadrant of a great circle than to the length of a pendulum.” IfsMadeTwoRealSeemsEarthScienceNaturalPracticeTakenExampleDependsOffersOrdinaryAdvantageAreasDistanceDefinitionsCirclesLengthQuantityUnitsMeasurementLinearUsagePendulums Author:Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de Condorcet
“As long as male behavior is taken to be the norm, there can be no serious questioning of male traits and behavior. A norm is by definition a standard for judging; it is not itself subject to judgment.” LongTakenSubjectsSeriousJudgingBehaviorJudgmentStandardsMalesDefinitionsTraitsQuestioningNorm Book:Boys Will Be Boys: Breaking the Link Between Masculinity and Violence Source: Boys Will Be Boys: Breaking the Link Between Masculinity and Violence
“More often than not, nothingness is reluctantly and despairingly taken to be the only hypothesis possible when all the others have failed, since by definition it cannot be disproven and is beyond the scope of reason.” ReasonTakenDefinitionsNothingnessHypothesisScope Book:The Impostor Source: The Impostor
“By definition, an actor's life is a recipe for regret. There are always roads you could have taken. But I've lived long enough to realise that each road has its own rewards.” LongEnoughLife IsActorsTakenRegretRewardsDefinitionsRealisingRecipes Author:Elizabeth McGovern
“We can no longer have forbidden areas of the human mind, or cultural machinery. We have taken upon ourselves the acquisition of so much power that we now must understand what we are. We cannot travel much further with the definitions of man that we inherit from the Judeo-Christian tradition. We need to truly explore the problem of consciousness.” MenNeedsMindHumansProblemChristianConsciousnessTakenAreasTraditionDefinitionsHuman MindForbiddenMachineryAcquisition Author:Terence McKenna