“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
“Galvanized people can do careless things. It is in the extreme and emotion-laden moments that distance and coolness are most required. I am tempted to howl in rage. It is not my place to do so. My job is to try to dissect the event, place it in context and try to understand what has happened and why. From that, after the rage cools, plans for action can be made. Rage has its place, but actions must be taken with discipline and thought.” PeopleTryingMadeMomentsActionJobsCan DoEmotionTakenPlansHappenedEventsDisciplineDistanceExtremesRageTemptedCarelessHowlCoolness Author:George Friedman
“Writing is nothing less than thought transference, the ability to send one's ideas out into the world, beyond time and distance, taken at the value of the words, unbound from the speaker.” WorldWritingIdeasValuesAbilityTakenDistanceSpeakersTransferenceUnboundTime And Distance Author:Arthur M. Jolly
“Germany's greatness makes it impossible for her to do without the ocean, but the ocean also proves that even in the distance, and on its farther side, without Germany and the German Emperor, no great decision dare henceforth be taken.” WarSidesDecisionTakenImpossibleGreatnessProveOceanDistanceDareGermanyEmperor Author:Wilhelm II
“The heaven is spherical in shape, and moves as a sphere; the earth too is sensibly spherical in shape, when taken as a whole; in position it lies in the middle of the heavens very much like its center; in size and distance it has the ratio of a point to the sphere of the fixed stars; and it has no motion from place to place.” WholeEarthMovingLyingHeavenStarsTakenMiddlePositionShapesDistanceSizeAstronomyFixedSpheresCosmologyRatios Book:Ptolemy's Almagest Source: Ptolemy's Almagest
“In the United States, cheap fossil fuel has eroded communities. We're the first people with no real practical need for each other. Everything comes from a great distance through anonymous and invisible transactions. We've taken that to be a virtue, but it's as much a curse. Americans are not very satisfied with their lives, and the loss of community is part of that.” PeopleNeedsFirstsRealStatesCommunityLossUnitedUnited StatesVirtueTakenDistancePracticalsInvisibleSatisfiedCurseFuelFossilsFossil FuelTransactions Author:Bill McKibben