“Though he avoided outright endorsement of the view, fifth-century Church Father Saint Augustine was clearly familiar with the theory of the spherical earth: "They [those who believe that "there are men on the other side of the earth"] fail to observe that even if the world is held to be global or rounded in shape, or if some process of reasoning should prove this to be the case, it would still not necessarily follow that the land on the opposite side is not covered by masses of water."” IfsMenWorldShouldBelieveStillsEarthFatherProcessSidesWaterChurchViewsCasesFailingLandCenturyTheoryShapesProveMassOppositesSaintFamiliarReasoningCoveredFifthAvoidedEndorsementsAugustineChurch Fathers Author:Saint Augustine
“The theory of Reincarnation, which originated in India, has been welcomed in other countries. Without doubt, it is one of the most sensible and satisfying of all religions that mankind has conceived. This, like the others, comes from the best qualities of human nature, even if in this, as in the others, its adherents sometimes fail to carry out the principles in their lives.” IfsHumansHas BeensCountrySometimesQualityPrinciplesDoubtFailingMankindHuman NatureTheoryIndiaSatisfyingSensibleOther CountriesReincarnationIncarnation Author:Luther Burbank
“In sum: banking theory and practice, as immobilizing and fixating forces, fail to acknowledge men and women as historical beings; problem-posing theory and practice take the people's historicity as their starting point.” PeopleMenProblemForcePracticeFailingTheoryMen And WomenHistoricalStartingAcknowledgeBankingStarting PointPosingTheory And Practice Book:Pedagogy of the Oppressed: 30th Anniversary Edition Source: Pedagogy of the Oppressed: 30th Anniversary Edition
“I speak of the war as fruitless; for it is clear that, prosecuted upon the basis of the proclamations of September 22d and September 24th, 1862, prosecuted, as I must understand these proclamations, to say nothing of the kindred blood which has followed, upon the theory of emancipation, devastation, subjugation, it cannot fail to be fruitless in every thing except the harvest of woe which it is ripening for what was once the peerless republic.” WarSpeakClearFailingBloodTheoryBasesRepublicSeptemberHarvestWoeEmancipationKindredDevastationProclamationSubjugationRipening Author:Franklin Pierce
“The full implications of feminism will evolve over time, as we organize, experiment, think, analyze, and revise our ideas and strategies in light of our experiences. No theory emerges in full detail overnight; the dominant theories of our day have expanded and changed over many decades. That it will take time should not discourage us. That we might fail to pursue our ideas - given the enormous need for them in society today - is unconscionable.” ThinkingNeedsShouldIdeasLightMightTodayGivenFailingFeminismChangedTheoryStrategyDetailsDecadesExperimentsEnormousPursueEvolveTake TimeDominantOrganizeImplicationsDiscouragingSociety Today Author:Charlotte Bunch
“A sure sign of a crisis is the prevalence of cranks. It is characteristic of a crisis in theory that cranks get a hearing from the public which orthodoxy is failing to satisfy.” FailingTheoryEconomicsCrisisHearingComplainingCharacteristicsOrthodoxyCrank Book:Contributions to Modern Economics Source: Contributions to Modern Economics
“I've found him to be a disappointment. Wonderful speech in Egypt, and good intentions aside, foreign policy needs to be firmly grounded in reality, and understanding of a sort of chaos theory...[that is to say] it needs to be part good intention, part political intelligence, and part political savvy and knowledge of international interests and national burdens. President Obama has been extremely short-sighted in this sense, and if he fails, it will be a tragic blow for peaceniks and multilateralists the world over, and a manna from heaven for the Republican party.” IfsWorldNeedsHas BeensRealityPoliticalFoundHeavenUnderstandingPresidentInterestPartyWonderfulFailingPolicyTheoryRepublicanSpeechIntentionChaosInternationalBlowDisappointmentBurdenTragicPresident ObamaForeign PolicyEgyptRepublican PartyGroundedGood IntentionsSavvyShort SightedChaos Theory Author:Munir Butt
“Scientific realism in classical (i.e. pre-quantum) physics has remained compatible with the naive realism of everyday thinking on the whole; whereas it has proven impossible to find any consistent way to visualize the world underlying quantum theory in terms of our pictures in the everyday world. The general conclusion is that in quantum theory naive realism, although necessary at the level of observations, fails at the microscopic level.” ThinkingWorldWayWholeTermLevelsImpossibleFailingTheoryEverydayPhysicsConclusionObservationConsistentQuantumRealismProvenNaiveQuantum PhysicsCompatibleQuantum Theory Author:Ravi Gomatam
“It is a little theory of mine that has much exercised my mind lately, that most of the problems of this silly and delightful world derive from our apologising for those things which we ought not to apologise for, and failing to apologise for those things for which apology is necessary.” WorldMindLittlesProblemFailingMinesTheoryOughtSillyApologyDelightfulApologising Book:Moab is My Washpot Source: Moab is My Washpot
“Critical Race Theory offers a critique of how law and certain law reform strategies misunderstand the actual operation of life-shortening state violence, and how that has produced a set of reforms that fail to actually transform material conditions of white supremacy. These critiques redirect our attention to the conditions we aim to transform.” StatesLawCertainWhiteRaceAttentionViolenceFailingConditionsMaterialsTheoryOffersAimStrategyCriticalReformOperationsWhite SupremacyCritiqueSupremacy Author:Dean Spade
“Tthe first rule is that you can't really know anything if you just remember isolated facts and try and bang 'em back. If the facts don't hang together on a latticework of theory, you don't have them in a usable form.... You may have noticed students who just try to remember and pound back what is remembered. Well, they fail in school and in life.” IfsKnowsTryingFirstsWellsMayFactsSchoolTogetherRememberFormFailingStudentsTheoryRememberedEmsPoundsIsolatedBangs Author:Charlie Munger
“The indispensability argument seeks to assimilate the epistemology of metaphysical statements to the epistemology of statements that are obviously empirical. I think it fails to achieve this goal. The argument does not refute the Carnapian thesis that scientific theories and metaphysical claims differ epistemologically - observations can provide evidence for the former, but not for the latter.” ThinkingDoeGoalFailingAchieveTheoryEvidenceArgumentClaimsStatementsObservationFormerLatterMetaphysicalEpistemologyThesisScientific Theory Author:Elliott Sober
“We went to the moon using just Newton's laws of motion and gravity. Newtonian dynamics we call it. So then we find out, "Well, this works because there's certain regimes we've never tested it in." Had we done so, we would show that it didn't work: For example, at very high speeds, very high gravity, Newton's laws fail. They just fail. You need Einstein's laws of motion and gravity. Those would be his special theory of relativity and general theory of relativity. Now you invoke those and it works.” NeedsWellsDoneShowsWould BeLawCertainFailingSpecialExampleTheoryMoonSpeedRegimesGravityTestedNewtonRelativityDynamicsInvokeHigh SpeedTheories Of RelativityLaws Of MotionNewton's Laws Author:Neil deGrasse Tyson
“We already know the limits of Einstein's theories. From the centers of black holes at the very beginning of the universe - we call these singularities - Einstein's equations fail. In fact, people have joked that's where God is dividing by zero.” PeopleKnowsFactsUniverseBlackFailingTheoryLimitsHolesZeroEquationsDividingSingularityBlack Hole Author:Neil deGrasse Tyson
“Einstein's theory, we know that it fails. In advance, we know it fails. So that a deeper understanding of nature is awaiting us.” KnowsUnderstandingFailingTheoryDeeperDeeper Understanding Author:Neil deGrasse Tyson
“I'm pretty confident the why works now. When it first began, somebody said to me: "Will this work in big business?" I said, "I don't know. Let's try." Somebody said will this work in entrepreneurs, relationships or government and military. I said, "I don't know. Let's try." I kept applying the scientific method. I had a theory. I kept applying that theory, looking for opportunities to fail and it kept working.” KnowsTryingFirstsSaidBigsGovernmentOpportunityFailingMilitaryTheoryMethodEntrepreneurBig BusinessScientific Method Author:Simon Sinek
“Every theory I've seen that contains an explanation of war fails. I think they fail for the same reason that explanations of sex fail. War derives from things so deep and so complex, I'm thoroughly baffled by it at the end of the day.” ThinkingWarEndsReasonSexFailingTheoryComplexesExplanationThe End Of The DayBaffled Author:George Friedman