Great Quotes
Everything important has already been figured out
So I genuinely advise you to simply read Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations. Get yourself one of those old papery things and just start reading it. Leave it on a nearby table. You’ll save yourself a lot of time, money, and other stuff. Here are some morsels you might not find in it.
In matters of risk, the degrees of likelihood and severity are always completely independent.
So, when you think something is very unlikely, don’t let that lull you into a sense of carelessness if the severity is unendurable.
Hybrids always win.
Most things are manufactured not for the ease of use, or pleasure in using them, but of manufacture, also called feasibility. Things are designed first and foremost so they can be made. But as our dominion over the physical world has accelerated to overwhelming mastery, manufacturing capabilities are virtually unlimited. And so, if a plastic cap on a milk carton is best for closure, but paper is best for the vessel, feasibility is no longer a limiting factor… it is no longer THE limiting factor. We now expect the best of both worlds in whatever product is being product-ed, also called produced.
All governance consists of balancing personal against public and short-term against long-term.
The answer to all ‘why’ questions is money.
Why do politicians lie? Why is the sky blue? Why is there poverty? Why do politicians tell the truth? The answer is always money.
They’re only little things if you do them.
If you do the ‘little things’ that distinguish great customer service or kindness or being a good friend, sure, they’re little things. But if you don’t do them, they’re big things.
In matters of value judgment, you must always ‘turn the table.’
Ask yourself how you’d feel if you were on the other side. Or try to figure out what the generous explanation is for the other side. If you can’t frame their argument humanely, no reconciliation is possible. Sometimes that’s the endpoint; for instance if you believe their side is barbaric or devilish, fight on.
The hardest person to forgive is yourself.
Sometimes when you’re aggravated and you’re struggling to get out of the mental forest, you might need a mirror not a map.
The most important words in the workplace are “My mistake.”
There is no golden rule of software usability, but if there were it would be ‘explicitness.’
I’ve worked from 1985 to 2022 trying to make software friendlier. Over that time the name of the profession has changed with the prevailing winds of trendiness, but the principles have been identical to the first day: user interface design is about communication. That in turn means accuracy, precision, openness, feedback and so on.
[Guest quote] The most helpful words in the workplace are “Help me understand.”
This was from one of the best salespeople I ever worked with. I’ll gladly attribute if he comments.
Always blame good advice on other people.
Perhaps there’s always a smidgeon of resistance to accepting good advice because of the circumstances, such as accepting fault, or feeling belittled… whatever. Anyway, a good way around this is to say someone else enlightened you, yourself, rather than framing it as advice that you are foisting on another.
The more you worry about something, the less it proves to be necessary.
As soon as you enter an argument with a child (of any age) you have lost.
[Guest quote] “Mistakes of omission are generally shared.” — David Rorke, college friend
[Guest quote] “When people say, in explanation of a notion, “It’s a lot of things,’ it’s usually just one thing.” — Scott Banks, 1108 Morefield Road, Philadelphia, PA USA, lifelong friend
Respect is measured not by positives but by negatives, the extent to which your regard for a person surpasses (!) your differences, disappointments, or dislikes.
In workplace negotiation, NEVER say simply ‘yes’ or ‘no’; it’s always “yes if,” or “no, if.”
Think of it this way: you’re usually not being flatly and openly asked, “Can you do this?” or “Is the sky blue?”; they’re asking “Is the sky blue at the price we’re paying you?” No, the sky isn’t fucking blue at that price! It’s blood red, and it’s my blood and you knew it by asking the question. I’m delighted that you have recognized my talent and more importantly, dedication, to offer me this opportunity. Of course, I’d love to take it on. Let’s talk about the price.
