Occasional Musings

"It’s only through such hard work that we can find out anything."

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:12:00 -0500

“It’s only through such hard work that we can find out anything.”

- Richard Feynman on the scrupulous observation of the position of planets during his talk “Law on Gravitation - An Example of Physical Law” (part one of his iconic “Messenger Lecture Series”), from 1964.

"If you want to build a product, and you want to build a product that is relevant to folks, you need..."

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 23:36:00 -0500

“If you want to build a product, and you want to build a product that is relevant to folks, you need to put yourself in thier shoes and you need to write a story from thier side.”

- Jack Dorsey on “The Power of Curiosity and Inspiration” at Stanford University, February 9, 2011.

"It may caution the unwary who are innocent of guile, and it may inspire the crafty by enlightenment..."

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 20:50:00 -0500

“It may caution the unwary who are innocent of guile, and it may inspire the crafty by enlightenment on artifice. It may demonstrate to the tyro that he cannot beat a man at his own game, and it may enable the skilled in deception to take a post-graduate course in the highest and most artistic branches of his vocation. But it will not make the innocent vicious, or transform the pastime player into a professional; or make the fool wise, or curtail the annual crop of suckers; but whatever the result may be, if it sells it will accomplish the primary motive of the author, as he needs the money.”

- S.W. Erdnase. From the introduction to his book Expert at the Card Table, 1901.

"Never ascribe to malice, that which can be explained by incompetence."

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:23:04 -0500

“Never ascribe to malice, that which can be explained by incompetence.”

- Napoleon Bonaparte (via Superfamous via Frank)

"Seeing that I can find no subject specially useful or pleasing—since the men who have come before me..."

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 19:13:00 -0500

“Seeing that I can find no subject specially useful or pleasing—since the men who have come before me have taken for their own every useful or necessary theme—I must do like one who, being poor, comes last to the fair, and can find no other way of providing himself than by taking all the things already seen by other buyers, and not taken but refused by reason of their lesser value. I, then, will load my humble pack with this despised and rejected merchandise, the refuse of so many buyers; and will go about to distribute it, not indeed in great cities, but in the poorer towns, taking such a price as the wares I offer may be worth.”

- Leonardo Da Vinci on selecting what fields to focus his attention. From The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, VOL. 1. by Jean Paul Richter (page 13).

Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond?

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 14:13:00 -0500

Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond?:

I’ve been reading this article on and off for a couple of weeks, it’s about 10,000 words, and I think it’s just great. The story is a little outdated, written in 1982, but I’m fascinated by the fact that this group created the idea of the engagement ring, among other things.

"It’s no good just saying to Kubrick such and such will or won’t work. You’ve got..."

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 19:55:00 -0500

“It’s no good just saying to Kubrick such and such will or won’t work. You’ve got to prove it to him to his satisfaction and that means you’ve got to have all your arguments lined up very logically and precisely. Not that he doesn’t leave you alone to get on with it — he delegates power but only on the noncreative side of the film and even then he checks and double checks. The creative side is entirely in his hands. He even designs his own posters. A most stimulating man to work with. The mind of a crack chess player — which he is.”

- Victor Lyndon, Associate Producer of 2001: A Space Odyssey, when asked about working with Stanley Kubrick. From a 1963 interview by Elaine Dundy for The Queen Magazine. Source: Stanley Kubrick: Interviews edited by Gene D. Phillips (pg. 11)