38 quotes
Despite the babbling of the creationists, evolution is inevitable in a competitive world, and it does work.
Why Flip a Coin? The Art and Science of Good Decisions (1997)
Philosophy is the misuse of a terminology which was invented for just this purpose.
Why Flip a Coin? The Art and Science of Good Decisions (1997)
People who claim there is no such thing as native intelligence are nuts.
Why Flip a Coin? The Art and Science of Good Decisions (1997)
Someone once said that he had made many mistakes in life, but never because he knew too much.
Why Flip a Coin? The Art and Science of Good Decisions (1997)
It is a fallacy of human perception to see patterns that aren’t there, and to see order where there is none.
Why Flip a Coin? The Art and Science of Good Decisions (1997)
The fact that self-interest can work against the common good is far-reaching, and no general solution is known.
Why Flip a Coin? The Art and Science of Good Decisions (1997)
Money is a society’s effort to reduce everything to a common measure, and get us away from trading clamshells for pottery.
Why Flip a Coin? The Art and Science of Good Decisions (1997)
Decision making by large groups can never lead to venturesome decisions.
Why Flip a Coin? The Art and Science of Good Decisions (1997)
The better is the worst enemy of the plenty good enough.
Why Flip a Coin? The Art and Science of Good Decisions (1997)
No one should be embarrassed at having to look things up in a book—it’s a great habit to develop.
Why Flip a Coin? The Art and Science of Good Decisions (1997)
It is fashionable in modern America to sneer at mathematics, nowhere more so than in sports.
Why Flip a Coin? The Art and Science of Good Decisions (1997)
Humans are not as different from other animals as we sometimes wish.
Why Flip a Coin? The Art and Science of Good Decisions (1997)
It doesn’t matter what the winners do when elected—the promise gets them the job, memories are short, and incumbency leads to tenure.
Why Flip a Coin? The Art and Science of Good Decisions (1997)
Those who proclaim so loudly and self-righteously that diversity strengthens a society will have trouble finding historical support for the view.
Why Flip a Coin? The Art and Science of Good Decisions (1997)
The real point is that unless we improve the attractiveness of distant gratification, it doesn’t stand a chance of competing with instant gratification.
Why Flip a Coin? The Art and Science of Good Decisions (1997)
Although anything can happen, it usually won’t.
Why Flip a Coin? The Art and Science of Good Decisions (1997)
Where it really matters to us, as in choosing a surgeon to remove an inflamed appendix, we tend to forsake democracy for expertise. But not in jury trials.
Why Flip a Coin? The Art and Science of Good Decisions (1997)
It is an unpopular but sound principle that you ought to know something about a subject before you earn the right to express an opinion about it.
Why Flip a Coin? The Art and Science of Good Decisions (1997)
The thrust of education has turned against achievement, and toward preserving the self-esteem of non-achievers.
Why Flip a Coin? The Art and Science of Good Decisions (1997)
In summary, the common good as a standard for decision making sounds virtuous, but it is not simple, not easily implementable, and certainly not universally applicable.
Why Flip a Coin? The Art and Science of Good Decisions (1997)