October 23

October 23 Quotes of the day from previous years:


 * 2004
 * You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it. ~ Maya Angelou
 * selected by Kalki


 * 2005
 * Reality is always greater — much greater — than what we know, than whatever we can say about it. ~ Michael Crichton (born 23 October 1942)
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2006
 * I am certain there is too much certainty in the world. ~ Michael Crichton
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2007
 * Life engenders life. Energy creates energy. It is by spending oneself that one becomes rich. ~ Sarah Bernhardt
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2008
 * We ought to hate very rarely, as it is too fatiguing; remain indifferent to a great deal, forgive often and never forget. ~ Sarah Bernhardt
 * proposed by Zarbon


 * 2009 : Once the curtain is raised, the actor ceases to belong to himself. He belongs to his character, to his author, to his public. He must do the impossible to identify himself with the first, not to betray the second, and not to disappoint the third. And to this end the actor must forget his personality and throw aside his joys and sorrows. He must present the public with the reality of a being who for him is only a fiction. With his own eyes, he must shed the tears of the other. With his own voice, he must groan the anguish of the other. His own heart beats as if it would burst, for it is the other's heart that beats in his heart. And when he retires from a tragic or dramatic scene, if he has properly rendered his character, he must be panting and exhausted. ~ Sarah Bernhardt
 * proposed by Zarbon


 * 2010 :
 * The best doctors found a middle position where they were neither overwhelmed by their feelings nor estranged from them. That was the most difficult position of all, and the precise balance — neither too detached nor too caring — was something few learned. ~ Michael Crichton
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2011
 * Life is short, even for those who live a long time, and we must live for the few who know and appreciate us, who judge and absolve us, and for whom we have the same affection and indulgence. The rest I look upon as a mere crowd, lively or sad, loyal or corrupt, from whom there is nothing to be expected but fleeting emotions, either pleasant or unpleasant, which leave no trace behind them. We ought to hate very rarely, as it is too fatiguing; remain indifferent to a great deal, forgive often and never forget. ~ Sarah Bernhardt
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2012


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2013
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2014


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2015


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2016


 * proposed by Gbern3


 * 2017


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2018


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2019


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2020


 * proposed by Kalki, in regard of his recent death.


 * 2021


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2022


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2023 : Rank or add further suggestions…

Suggestions
Please crack down on the Chinaman's friends and Hitler's commander. ~ Dutch Schultz, shot that day
 * 3 ~ MosheZadka (Talk) 09:24, 8 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Comment: featured prominently in The Illuminatus! Trilogy ~ MosheZadka (Talk) 09:24, 8 October 2005 (UTC)
 * 1 Kalki 19:08, 22 October 2007 (UTC)
 * 0 Zarbon 05:29, 25 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 0 InvisibleSun 22:11, 22 October 2008 (UTC)
 * 0 //Gbern3 (talk) 19:04, 26 June 2013 (UTC)

Strictly speaking, no hypothesis or theory can ever be proven. When we say that we believe a theory, what we really mean is that we are unable to show that the theory is wrong — not that we are able to show, beyond doubt, that the theory is right. ~ Michael Crichton Gerhard Robbins
 * 1 Kalki 20:05, 18 October 2007 (UTC) 3 Kalki 23:36, 22 October 2005 (UTC) downgraded rank, as this is not actually Crichton's, and therefore not strongly linked to the date
 * 2 InvisibleSun 17:36, 22 October 2006 (UTC)
 * 2 if linked to the correct person and date Zarbon 05:29, 25 April 2008 (UTC)
 * The above quote is actually attributable to the physicist Gerhard Robbins. Michael Crichton does use it (in the appendix to his book Eaters of the Dead...but he has correctly acknowledged it) ~ SusanPitt (Talk)
 * 2 //Gbern3 (talk) 19:04, 26 June 2013 (UTC)

For beauty being the best of all we know Sums up the unsearchable and secret aims Of nature. ~ Robert Bridges (born 23 October 1844)
 * 3 InvisibleSun 17:36, 22 October 2006 (UTC)
 * 3 Kalki 19:08, 22 October 2007 (UTC)
 * 1 Zarbon 05:29, 25 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 //Gbern3 (talk) 19:04, 26 June 2013 (UTC)

Ah, my faith! I know nothing about it; I am my own ancestor. ~ Jean-Andoche Junot
 * 2 Zarbon 03:41, 5 July 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 Kalki 20:17, 16 October 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 InvisibleSun 22:11, 22 October 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 //Gbern3 (talk) 19:04, 26 June 2013 (UTC)

The world would not have had a Barack Obama or a Hillary Clinton if it had not been for my father's movement 40 years ago. To elect Senator Obama would be aproportion of that dream fulfilled. I believe we can do that if we elect the right leader. ~ Martin Luther King III
 * 2 Zarbon 03:41, 5 July 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 Kalki 05:33, 18 October 2009 (UTC) 0 Kalki 20:17, 16 October 2008 (UTC) I might normally rank this 2 or 3, but it is far too explicitly partisan a statement to be a Wikiquote QOTD at this stage of a major US election.
 * 1 InvisibleSun 22:11, 22 October 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 //Gbern3 (talk) 19:04, 26 June 2013 (UTC)

The beautiful are shyer than the ugly, for they move in a world that does not ask for beauty. ~ Ned Rorem
 * 3 Zarbon 03:41, 5 July 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 Kalki 20:17, 16 October 2008 (UTC)
 * 0 because it is unsourced. - InvisibleSun 22:11, 22 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Comment: The quote is not unsourced. The source is stated right under. - Zarbon 02:04, 23 October 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 //Gbern3 (talk) 19:04, 26 June 2013 (UTC)

There'll never be a soccer player like Pelé. Better than Pelé, maybe, but not like Pelé. ~ Pelé
 * 2 Zarbon 03:41, 5 July 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 Kalki 20:17, 16 October 2008 (UTC)
 * 0 because it is unsourced. InvisibleSun 22:11, 22 October 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 //Gbern3 (talk) 19:04, 26 June 2013 (UTC)

I cannot walk a single step or make any movement or gesture, sit down, go out, look at the sky or ground, without feeling some reason for hope or despair, until at last, exasperated by the trammels put upon my actions by my thought, I defy all superstitions and just act as I want to act. ~ Sarah Bernhardt
 * 3 Kalki (talk &middot; contributions) 11:44, 4 October 2010 (UTC)
 * 1 //Gbern3 (talk) 19:04, 26 June 2013 (UTC)

Sometimes I think man needs to feel a special position within nature, and this leads him to believe that he is either specially hated by other animals or specially cherished. Instead of the truth, which is that he's just another animal on the plain. A smart one, but just another animal. ~ Michael Crichton
 * 3 Kalki (talk &middot; contributions) 11:44, 4 October 2010 (UTC)
 * 2 //Gbern3 (talk) 19:04, 26 June 2013 (UTC)

The extreme positions of the Crossfire Syndrome require extreme simplification — framing the debate in terms which ignore the real issues. ~ Michael Crichton
 * 3 Kalki (talk &middot; contributions) 11:44, 4 October 2010 (UTC)
 * 1 //Gbern3 (talk) 19:04, 26 June 2013 (UTC) What is Crossfire Syndrome?

I want to mention in passing that punditry has undergone a subtle change over the years. In the old days, commentators such as Eric Sevareid spent most of their time putting events in a context, giving a point of view about what had already happened. Telling what they thought was important or irrelevant in the events that had already taken place. This is of course a legitimate function of expertise in every area of human knowledge. But over the years the punditic thrust has shifted away from discussing what has happened, to discussing what may happen. And here the pundits have no benefit of expertise at all. Worse, they may, like the Sunday politicians, attempt to advance one or another agenda by predicting its imminent arrival or demise. This is politicking, not predicting. ~ Michael Crichton
 * 3 Kalki (talk &middot; contributions) 11:44, 4 October 2010 (UTC)
 * 2 //Gbern3 (talk) 19:04, 26 June 2013 (UTC)

Science is nothing more than a method of inquiry. The method says an assertion is valid — and merits universal acceptance — only if it can be independently verified. The impersonal rigor of the method means it is utterly apolitical. A truth in science is verifiable whether you are black or white, male or female, old or young. It's verifiable whether you like the results of a study, or you don't. ~ Michael Crichton
 * 3 Kalki (talk &middot; contributions) 11:44, 4 October 2010 (UTC)
 * 2 //Gbern3 (talk) 19:04, 26 June 2013 (UTC)

Let's be clear: the work of science has nothing whatever to do with consensus. Consensus is the business of politics. Science, on the contrary, requires only one investigator who happens to be right, which means that he or she has results that are verifiable by reference to the real world. In science consensus is irrelevant. What is relevant is reproducible results. The greatest scientists in history are great precisely because they broke with the consensus. There is no such thing as consensus science. If it's consensus, it isn't science. If it's science, it isn't consensus. Period. ~ Michael Crichton
 * 3 Kalki (talk &middot; contributions) 11:44, 4 October 2010 (UTC)
 * 2 //Gbern3 (talk) 19:04, 26 June 2013 (UTC)

To give up responsibility for our lives is not healthy. ~ Michael Crichton
 * 3 Kalki (talk &middot; contributions) 11:44, 4 October 2010 (UTC)
 * 2 //Gbern3 (talk) 19:04, 26 June 2013 (UTC)

The doctor is not a miracle worker who can magically save us but, rather, an expert adviser who can assist us in our own recovery. ~ Michael Crichton
 * 3 Kalki (talk &middot; contributions) 11:44, 4 October 2010 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.
 * 2 //Gbern3 (talk) 19:04, 26 June 2013 (UTC)


 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 06:11, 21 October 2012 (UTC)
 * 2 //Gbern3 (talk) 19:04, 26 June 2013 (UTC)


 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 06:11, 21 October 2012 (UTC)
 * 2 //Gbern3 (talk) 19:04, 26 June 2013 (UTC)


 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 00:15, 9 February 2013 (UTC)
 * 3 //Gbern3 (talk) 19:04, 26 June 2013 (UTC)


 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 00:15, 9 February 2013 (UTC)
 * 2 //Gbern3 (talk) 19:04, 26 June 2013 (UTC)


 * 4 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 19:12, 22 October 2023 (UTC) // NOT 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 00:15, 9 February 2013 (UTC) with a very strong lean toward 4.
 * 1 //Gbern3 (talk) 19:04, 26 June 2013 (UTC)