“In the Middle Age, in Germany, if you wanted to learn addition and multiplication, you could go to any university. But if you wanted to learn division, you could only do it in one place, Heidelberg. This makes sense, since in my theory with Vladimir Retakh and Robert Wilson, addition and multiplications are cheap, but division is expensive.” IfsAgeWantedScienceMiddleTheoryMathematicsUniversityMake SenseGermanyExpensiveDivisionMiddle AgesWilsonMultiplication Author:Israel Gelfand
“Theory may be deliberate, as in a chapter on chemistry, or it may be second nature, as in the immemorial doctrine of ordinary enduring middle-sized physical objects.” MayMiddleObjectsTheoryOrdinaryEndureDoctrineChemistryChaptersDeliberate Author:Willard Van Orman Quine
“I write my books to challenge my own feelings and theories. Perhaps most surprising was what I learned about rice farming. It was really interesting to think of how different Asian and Western cultures are as a result of the kinds of agricultural practices that our ancestors used for thousands of years. The life of a Chinese peasant in the Middle Ages was so dramatically different from the life of a European peasant - night and day different.” ThinkingWritingYearsKindBookDifferentFeelingsAgeUsedNightCultureChallengesMy OwnInterestingResultsPracticeMiddleTheoryWesternChineseAncestorSurprisingAsianFarmingMiddle AgesRicePeasantsReally InterestingWestern Culture Author:Malcolm Gladwell
“We are more gullible and superstitious today than we were in the Middle Ages, and an example of modern credulity is the widespread belief that the Earth is round. The average man can advance not a single reason for thinking that the Earth is round. He merely swallows this theory because there is something about it that appeals to the twentieth century mentality.” ThinkingMenReasonAgeTodayEarthBeliefModernMiddleCenturyExampleTheoryRoundsAverageAppealsMentalityMiddle AgesTwentieth CenturySuperstitiousCredulityAverage ManGullibleRound Earth Author:George Bernard Shaw
“I used to think I knew everything, but older you get the more you see other areas. If you could read everything about both sides, you'll pretty much be in the middle again, which is the state you had when you were totally ignorant. So my theory is if you maintain total ignorance - which isn't easy, but I try - you'll be just as far ahead as if you'd spent days and days reading about the whole issue. And you have that much extra time to play Pac-man.” IfsThinkingMenTryingStatesPlayWholeUsedReadingEasySidesIssuesMiddleIgnoranceTheoryAreasIgnorantExtrasBoth SidesPacsExtra Time Author:Emo Philips
“You know, in America, Christian fundamentalism vs. science. You know, be it teaching Darwinian evolutionary theory or stem cell res- You know, the whole thing, and then the issue of women being educated in Middle Eastern - I mean, it just seems so contemporary. In terms of spirituality, it's interesting because I actually think (her character in Agora) Hypatia is very spiritual.” ThinkingKnowsMeanWholeCharacterSeemsChristianAmericaSpiritualSpiritualityTermInterestingIssuesTeachingMiddleTheoryContemporaryEducatedCellsStemFundamentalismEasternStem Cell Author:Rachel Weisz
“I don't believe in the theory that the United States is reducing its presence in the Middle East. Quite the contrary, in the Gulf, we see an increase in American military presence, as well as an increase in American investments. The argument is more accurate when one says America is focusing more attention to the Far East. But I don't believe it comes at the expense of the Middle East.” BelieveWellsStatesAmericaUnitedAttentionUnited StatesMiddleMilitaryTheoryArgumentIncreaseInvestmentDon't BelieveEastContraryExpensesMiddle EastAccurateReducingAmerican MilitaryMilitary Presence Author:Adel al-Jubeir