Movies
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Luke: All right, I'll give it a try.
Yoda: No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try.
Oppenheimer (2023)
Haakon Chevalier : Do stars die?
J. Robert Oppenheimer : Well, if they do, they'd cool, then collapse. In fact, the bigger the star, the more violent its demise. Their gravity gets so concentrated, it swallows everything. Everything, even light.
Haakon Chevalier: Can that really happen?
J. Robert Oppenheimer: The math says it can.
J. Robert Oppenheimer: I don't know if we can be trusted with such a weapon. But I know the Nazis can't.
J. Robert Oppenheimer: It’s too soon to tell what the results of this bombing are but I’ll bet the Japanese didn’t like it.
J. Robert Oppenheimer: They won't fear it until they understand it. And they won't understand it until they've used it. Theory will take you only so far.
Leslie Groves: Are you saying that there's a chance that when we push that button... we destroy the world?
J. Robert Oppenheimer: The chances are near zero.
Leslie Groves: Near zero?
J. Robert Oppenheimer: What do you want from theory alone?
Leslie Groves: Zero would be nice!
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
Holga: In other words, Forge is a real son of a bit**.
Xenk: So you blame his mother for his corruption.
Holga: What? No, it is an expression.
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Sean : There's honor, ya know, in taking that 40-minute so those college kids could come in the morning, and their floors are clean and their wastebaskets are empty. That's real work.
Will : That's right.
Sean : Right, and that's honorable. Sure, that's why you took that job. I mean, for the 'honor' of it. I just have a little question here. You could be a janitor anywhere. Why did you work at the most prestigious technical college in the whole fuckin' world? And why did you sneak around at night and finish other people's formulas that only one or two people in the world could do and then lie about it? 'Cause I don't see a lot of honor in that, Will.
Sean: He pushes people away before they get a chance to leave him. It's a defense mechanism. And for 20 years he's been alone because of that. And if you push him right now, it's gonna be the same thing all over again and I'm not gonna let that happen to him.
Will: What do I wanna way outta here for? I'm gonna live here the rest of my fuckin' life. We'll be neighbors, have little kids, take them to Little League up at Foley Field.
Chuckie: Look, you're my best friend, so don't take this the wrong way but, in 20 years if you're still living here, coming over to my house, watching the Patriots games, workin' construction, I'll fuckin' kill ya. That's not a threat, that's a fact, I'll fuckin' kill ya.
Will: What the fuck you talkin' about?
Chuckie: You got something none of us have...
Will: Oh, come on! What? Why is it always this? I mean, I fuckin' owe it to myself to do this or that. What if I don't want to?
Chuckie: No. No, no no no. Fuck you, you don't owe it to yourself man, you owe it to me. Cuz tomorrow I'm gonna wake up and I'll be 50, and I'll still be doin' this shit. And that's all right. That's fine. I mean, you're sitting on a winning lottery ticket. And you're too much of a pussy to cash it in, and that's bullshit. 'Cause I'd do fuckin' anything to have what you got. So would any of these fuckin' guys. It'd be an insult to us if you're still here in 20 years. Hanging around here is a fuckin' waste of your time.
Escape from L.A. (1996)
Duty Sergeant: What would you say to all of us who believed in you, who looked up to you, who thought you stood for right over wrong, good over evil? Be my guest. What do you have to say, Plissken?
Snake Plissken: Call me Snake.
Malloy: For God sakes, don't do it, Snake!
Snake Plissken: The name's Plissken.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
Buster Scruggs: I'm not a devious man by nature... but when you're unarmed, your tactics might gonna be downright Archimedean.
Buster Scruggs: There's just gotta be a place up ahead where men ain't low-down and poker's played fair. If there weren't, what are all the songs about? I'll see you all there. And we can sing together and shake our heads over all the meanness in the used-to-be.
Yesterday (2019)
Jack Malik: How are Nick and Carol?
Ellie Appleton: Very Unhappy.
Jack Malik: Excellent. I wouldn't know how to relate to them if they actually got on.
Debra Hammer: The first one...
Jack Malik: "Here Comes the Sun."
Debra Hammer: Yeah, yeah. That's amazing. Whoo! And the second one...
Rocky: My personal favorite.
Jack Malik: "The Summer Song."
Debra Hammer: "The Summer Song." That is - it's simple, without being charming. I'm struggling to find the words. I hated it, but, I wasn't interested in it enough to listen to it again to find out why.
The Irishman (2019)
Frank Sheeran: When they say they're more than a little concerned, they're desperate.
Russel Bufalino: When I ask somebody to take care of something for me, I expect them to take care of it themselves. I don't need two roads coming back to me.
Sally Bugs: I'm just trying to understand how a person can buy a fish and not know what kind it was.
Russel Bufalino: Listen, some people, not me, but some people, they are a little concerned. Some people, not me, they think that you might...
Jimmy Hoffa: I might...
Russel: You might be demonstrating a failure to show appreciation.
Jimmy: I'm not showing appreciation?
Frank Sheeran: They should be concerned.
Jimmy Hoffa: They are. They are. Well, let them be.
Frank: They're more than a little concerned. There's widespread concern. It's a big problem. Tony told the old man to tell me to tell you..."It's what it is."
Jimmy: What it is?
Frank: It's what it is.
Vice (2018)
Dick: I’m sorry. Don. I really am.
Rumsfeld: You know how I know you’re not? Because I wouldn’t be.
The Equalizer 2 (2018)
Robert McCall: They killed my friend. So I’m going to kill each and every one of them. And the only disappointment is that I only get to do it once.
Miles Whittaker: You know, I got, got a special talent.
Robert McCall: Yes, you do. And it takes talent to make money. But it takes brains to keep it, Miles.
Miles Whittaker: Well, I’m out here making my money.
Robert McCall: Short money, Miles. That’s short money.
The Florida Project (2017)
Moonee: You know why this is my favorite tree?
Jancey: Why?
Moonee: Because it's tipped over, and it's still growing.
Moonee: I can always tell when adults are about to cry.
Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 (2017)
Rocket: I'm Sorry. I can only afford to lose one friend today.
Darkest Hour (2017)
Winston Churchill: Will you stop interrupting me while I am interrupting you!
Winston Churchill: You ask what is our aim. Victory at all costs.
Clemmie: You are strong because you are imperfect. You are wise because you have doubts.
Miss Layton: No one can put words together like you.
The Shape of Water (2017)
Strickland: Oh, no. No, a man washes his hands before or after tending to his needs. It tells you a lot about a man. He does it both times - points to a weakness in character.
Hoffstetler: As Lenin said, there is no profit in last week's fish.
Taken (2008)
Bryan Mills: I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.
Whiplash (2014)
Terence Fletcher: There are no two words in the English language more harmful than "good job".
Terence Fletcher: The truth is, Andrew, I never really had a Charlie Parker. But I tried. I actually f*cking tried, and that's more than most people ever do. And I will never apologize for how I tried.
Ghostbusters (2016)
Patty Tolan: That's where I saw that weird sparking thing.
Jillian Holtzmann: What was it?
Patty Tolan: Baby, if I knew what it was, I wouldn't have called it a 'weird sparking thing'.
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Mark Hanna: The name of the game, moving the money from the client's pocket to your pocket.
Jordan Belfort: But if you can make your clients money at the same time it's advantageous to everyone, correct?
Mark Hanna: No.
Jordan Belfort: So you listen to me and you listen well. Are you behind on your credit card bills? Good, pick up the phone and start dialing! Is your landlord ready to evict you? Good! Pick up the phone and start dialing! Does your girlfriend think you're fucking worthless loser? Good! Pick up the phone and start dialing! I want you to deal with your problems by becoming rich!
The Man Who Knew Infinity (2016)
G.H. Hardy: So if we are going to challenge areas of mathematics that are so well trod, we cannot afford to be wrong.
Match Point (2005)
Christopher ``Chris'' Wilton: The man who said "I'd rather be lucky than good" saw deeply into life. People are afraid to face how great a part of life is dependent on luck. It's scary to think so much is out of one's control. There are moments in a match when the ball hits the top of the net, and for a split second, it can either go forward or fall back. With a little luck, it goes forward, and you win. Or maybe it doesn't, and you lose.
The Big Short (2015)
Margot Robbie: Basically, Lewis Ranieri's mortgage bonds were amazingly profitable for the big banks. They made billions and billions on their 2% fee they got for selling each of these bonds. But then, they started running out of mortgages to put in them. After all, there are only so many homes and so many people with good enough jobs to buy them, right? So, the banks started filling these bonds with riskier and riskier mortgages. That way, they can keep that profit machine churning, alright? By the way, these risky mortgages are called "subprime." So, whenever you hear the word "subprime," think "shit." Our friend, Michael Burry, found out that these mortgage bonds that were supposedly 65% AAA, were actually just, mostly, full of shit, so now, he's going to "short" the bonds, which means "to bet against." Got it? Good... Now, fuck off.
Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
Thomas Gabriel: You know, John, I feel like we've gotten off on the wrong foot. And because of that, you think I'm the bad guy. Nothing could be further from the truth. I'm the good guy here. I told them this could happen if they didn't prepare. Did I get a "Thank you"? No, I got crucified. But, they wouldn't listen.
John McClane: You got their attention now, don't you?
Thomas Gabriel: That's right. I am doing the country a favor.
John McClane: By tearing it apart?
Thomas Gabriel: Better me than some outsider. Some religious nut job bent on Armageddon. Nobody wants to see that happen. Everything I've broken can be fixed if the country is willing to pay for it.
John McClane: Ah, bullshit. It's always been about the money.
Thomas Gabriel: What, I shouldn't get paid for my work? I'm working my ass off here, John.
John McClane: Well, just sit tight, asshole. I gotta check for you.
Ex Machina (2015)
Caleb: It's just in the Turing test, the machine should be hidden from the examiner.
Nathan: No, no. We're way past that. If I hid Ava from you so you could just hear her voice, she would pass for human. The real test is to show you that she's a robot and then see if you still feel she has consciousness.
Caleb: Yeah, I think you're probably right.
Caleb: I got a question.
Nathan: Okay.
Caleb: Why did you give her sexuality? An AI doesn’t need a gender. She could have been a grey box.
Nathan: Hmm. Actually, I don’t think that’s true. Can you give an example of consciousness, at any level, human or animal, that exists without a sexual dimension? They have sexuality as an evolutionary reproductive need. What imperative does a grey box have to interact with another grey box? Can consciousness exist without interaction?
Caleb: Did you give her sexuality as a diversion tactic?
Nathan: I don’t follow.
Caleb: Like a stage magician with a hot assistant.
Nathan: So a hot robot who clouds your ability to judge her AI?
Caleb: Exactly. So… Did you program her to flirt with me?
Nathan: If I did, would that be cheating?
Caleb: Wouldn’t it?
Caleb: Did you program her to like me, or not?
Nathan: I programmed her to be heterosexual, just like you were programmed to be heterosexual.
Caleb: Nobody programmed me to be straight.
Nathan: You decided to be straight? Please! Of course you were programmed, by nature or nurture or both and to be honest, Caleb, you're starting to annoy me now because this is your insecurity talking, this is not your intellect.
Nathan: Answer me this. How do you feel about her?
Caleb: Her AI is beyond doubt.
Nathan: No, nothing analytical, just, how do you feel?
Caleb: I feel that she's amazing.
Nathan: Dude! Now the question is, how does she feel about you? Does Ava actually like you or is she pretending to like you? Self awareness, manipulation, sexuality, now if that isn't true, now what is?
The Martian (2015)
Mark Watney: Every human being has a basic instinct: to help each other out. If a hiker gets lost in the mountains, people will coordinate a search. If a train crashes, people will line up to give blood. If an earthquake levels a city, people all over the world will send emergency supplies. This is so fundamentally human that it's found in every culture without exception. Yes, there are assholes who just don't care, but they're massively outnumbered by the people who do.
Mark Watney: At some point, everything's gonna go south on you and you're going to say, this is it. This is how I end. Now you can either accept that, or you can get to work. That's all it is. You just begin. You do the math. You solve one problem and you solve the next one, and then the next. And If you solve enough problems, you get to come home.
Mark Watney: They say once you grow crops somewhere, you have officially colonized it. So, technically, I colonized Mars. In your face, Neil Armstrong!
Mark Watney: In the face of overwhelming odds, I'm left with only one option. I'm gonna have to science the sh** out of this!
Rick Martines: Sorry that we left you alone on Mars, but we don't really like you. It's much roomier on the Hermes now. We've been sharing responsibility for your work, but it's only botany so it's not real science.
Easy Rider (1969)
George Hanson: You know, this used to be a helluva good country. I can't understand what's gone wrong with it.
Billy: Man, everybody got chicken, that's what happened. Hey, we can't even get into like, a second-rate hotel, I mean, a second-rate motel, you dig? They think we're gonna cut their throat or something. They're scared, man.
George Hanson: They're not scared of you. They're scared of what you represent to them.
Billy: Hey, man. All we represent to them, man, is somebody who needs a haircut.
George Hanson: Oh, no. What you represent to them is freedom.
Billy: What the hell is wrong with freedom? That's what it's all about.
George Hanson: Oh, yeah, that's right. That's what's it's all about, all right. But talking about it and being it, that's two different things. I mean, it's real hard to be free when you are bought and sold in the marketplace. Of course, don't ever tell anybody that they're not free, because then they're gonna get real busy killin' and maimin' to prove to you that they are. Oh, yeah, they're gonna talk to you, and talk to you, and talk to you about individual freedom. But they see a free individual, it's gonna scare them.
Billy: Well, it don't make them running scared.
George Hanson: No, it makes them dangerous. Buh, neh! Neh! Neh! Neh! Swamp!
Silence (2016)
Rodrigues: I worry, they value these poor signs of faith more than faith itself. But how can we deny them?
Ferreira: Our religion does not take root in this country.
Rodrigues: Because the roots have been torn up.
Ferreira: No. Because this country is a swamp. Nothing grows here.
Ferreira: The Japanese can not think of an existence beyond the realm of nature. For them nothing transcends to human.
Rodrigues: I saw them die. I saw them die. They did not die for nothing.
Ferreira: They did not. They're dying for you, Rodriguez.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012)
Sonny: Everything will be all right in the end and if it's not all right, then it's not yet the end.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Vincent: Yeah, baby, you'd dig it the most. But you know what the funniest thing about Europe is?
Jules: What?
Vincent: It's the little differences. I mean, they got the same shit over there that we got here, but it's just...it's just, there it's a little different.
Jules: Example?
Vincent: All right. Well, you can walk into a movie theater in Amsterdam and buy a beer. And I don't mean just like in no paper cup; I'm talking about a glass of beer. And in Paris, you can buy a beer at McDonald's. And you know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris?
Jules: They don't call it a Quarter Pounder with Cheese?
Vincent: Nah, man, they got the metric system. They wouldn't know what the fuck a Quarter Pounder is.
Jules: What do they call it?
Vincent: They call it a "Royale with Cheese."
Jules: "Royale with Cheese."
Vincent: That's right.
Jules: What do they call a Big Mac?
Vincent: A Big Mac is a Big Mac, but they call it "Le Big Mac."
Jules: "Le Big Mac." What do they call a Whopper?
Vincent: I don't know, I didn't go in a Burger King.
Jules: Looks like me and Vincent caught you boys at breakfast. Sorry about that. What are you having?
Brett: Hamburgers.
Jules: Hamburgers! The cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast. What kind of hamburgers?
Brett: Ch-cheeseburgers.
Jules: No, no no, where did you get them? McDonalds? Wendy's? Jack in the Box? Where?
Brett: Big Kahuna Burger.
Jules: Big Kahuna Burger. That's that Hawaiian burger joint. I hear they got some tasty burgers. I ain't never had one myself. How are they?
Brett: They're good.
Jules: Mind if I try one of yours? This is yours here, right? Mmm-mmmm. That is a tasty burger. Vincent, ever have a Big Kahuna Burger? Wanna bite? They're real tasty.
Vincent: Ain't hungry.
Life of Pi (2012)
Santosh Patel (Pi's father): We will sail like Columbus.
Young Pi Patel: But Columbus was looking for India!
Writer: I don't know what to say.
Adult Pi Patel: It's hard to believe, isn't it?
Writer: It is a lot to take in. To figure out what it all means.
Adult Pi Patel: If it happened, it happened. Why should it have to mean anything?
Adult Pi Patel: Can I ask you something? I've told you two stories about what happened out on the ocean. Neither explains what caused the sinking of the ship, and no one can prove which story is true and which is not. In both stories, the ship sinks, my family dies, and I suffer.
Writer: True.
Adult Pi Patel: So which story do you prefer?
Writer: The one with the tiger. That's the better story.
Adult Pi Patel: Thank you. And so it goes with God.
Writer: Mamaji was right. It's an amazing story. Will you really let me write it?
Adult Pi Patel: Of course. Isn't that why Mamaji sent you here after all? My wife is here. Do you want to stay for dinner? She's an incredible cook.
Writer: I didn't know you had a wife.
Adult Pi Patel: And a cat and two children.
Writer: So your story does have a happy ending.
Adult Pi Patel: Well, that's up to you. The story is yours now.
There Will Be Blood (2007)
Daniel Plainview: Drainage, Eli! Drained dry, I'm so sorry.
Eli Sunday: [Sobbing]
Daniel Plainview: Here. If you have a milkshake. And I have a milkshake. And if I have a straw... My straw reaches across the room, and starts to drink your milkshake. I drink your milkshake! I drink it up!
Eli Sunday: Don't bully me Daniel!
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Mr. Pink: I'm very sorry the government taxes their tips, that's fucked up. That ain't my fault. It would seem to me that waitresses are one of the many groups the government fucks in the ass on a regular basis. Look, if you ask me to sign something that says the government shouldn't do that, I'll sign it, put it to a vote, I'll vote for it, but what I won't do is play ball. And as for this non-college bullshit I got two words for that: learn to fuckin' type, 'cause if you're expecting me to help out with the rent you're in for a big fuckin' surprise.
Jackie Brown (1997)
Ordell Robbie: What the f**k happened to you man? Your ass used to be beautiful.
Starship Troopers (1997)
I need a corporal. You're it until you're dead or I find someone better.
This is for all you new people: I only have one rule. Everyone fights. No one quits. You don't do your job, I'll shoot you myself. You get me?
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Andy: Hello. I'm Andy Dufresne.
Red: The wife-killing banker.
Andy: How do you know that?
Red: I keep my ear to the ground. Why'd you do it?
Andy: I didn't, since you ask.
Red: Hell, you're gonna fit right in, then. Everyone's innocent in here, don't you know that? Heywood! What are you in for, boy?
Heywood: Didn't do it! Lawyer fucked me!
Andy: What else have you heard?
Red: People say you're a cold fish. They say you think your shit smells sweeter than ordinary. That true?
Andy: What do you think?
Red: Ain't made up my mind yet.
Red: Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.
Andy: Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.
Andy: You know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific?
Red: No.
Andy: They say it has no memory. That's where I want to live the rest of my life. A warm place with no memory.
Red: I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.
The Godfather Part I and II (1972 and 1974)
Michael Corleone: Well, when Johnny was first starting out, he was signed to a personal services contract with this big-band leader. And as his career got better and better, he wanted to get out of it. But the band leader wouldn't let him. Now, Johnny is my father's godson. So my father went to see this bandleader and offered him $10,000 to let Johnny go, but the bandleader said no. So the next day, my father went back, only this time with Luca Brasi. Within an hour, he had a signed release for a certified check of $1000.
Kay Adams: How did he do that?
Michael Corleone: My father made him an offer he couldn't refuse.
Kay Adams: What was that?
Michael Corleone: Luca Brasi held a gun to his head, and my father assured him that either his brains or his signature would be on the contract....... That's a true story.
Michael: My father is no different than any powerful man, any man with power, like a president or senator.
Kay: Do you know how naive you sound, Michael? Presidents and senators don't have men killed.
Michael: Oh. Who's being naive, Kay?
Emilio Barzini: Times have changed. It's not like the old days, when we can do anything we want. A refusal is not the act of a friend. If Don Corleone had all the judges, and the politicians in New York, then he must share them, or let us others use them. He must let us draw the water from the well. Certainly he can present a bill for such services; after all... we are not Communists.
Michael: There are many things my father taught me here in this room. He taught me: Keep your friends close but your enemies closer.
Michael: Only don't tell me you're innocent. Because it insults my intelligence and makes me very angry.
Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.
Michael: It's not personal, Sonny. It's strictly business.
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.
The Sucker Punch (2011)
You have all the weapons you need. Now Fight!
The Shining (1980)
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
Come and play with us, Danny,... for ever, and ever, and ever.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Dave: Hello, HAL. Do you read me, HAL?
HAL: Affirmative, Dave. I read you.
Dave: Open the pod bay doors, HAL.
HAL: I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.
Dave: What's the problem?
HAL: I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do.
Dave: What are you talking about, HAL?
HAL: This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it.
Dave: I don't know what you're talking about, HAL.
HAL: I know that you and Frank were planning to disconnect me, and I'm afraid that's something I cannot allow to happen.
Dave: Where the hell did you get that idea, HAL?
HAL: Dave, although you took very thorough precautions in the pod against my hearing you, I could see your lips move.
Dave: Alright, HAL. I'll go in through the emergency airlock.
HAL: Without your space helmet, Dave? You're going to find that rather difficult.
Dave: HAL, I won't argue with you anymore! Open the doors!
HAL: Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.
Spider-Man (2002)
With great power comes great responsibility.
Kick-Ass (2010)
Dave Lizewski: With no power comes no responsibility, except that wasn't true.
Prometheus (2012)
Charlie Holloway: What we hoped to achieve was to meet our makers. To get answers. Why they even made us in the first place.
David: Why do you think your people made me?
Charlie Holloway: We made you because we could.
David: Can you imagine how disappointing it would be for you to hear the same thing from your creator?
Charlie Holloway: I guess it's good you can't be disappointed.
Ghost in the Shell (1995)
Major Makoto Kusanagi: There are countless ingredients that make up the human body and mind, like all the components that make up me as an individual with my own personality. Sure I have a face and voice to distinguish myself from others, but my thoughts and memories are unique only to me, and I carry a sense of my own destiny. Each of those things are just a small part of it. I collect information to use in my own way. All of that blends to create a mixture that forms me and gives rise to my conscience. I feel confined, only free to expand myself within boundaries.
Puppet Master: It can also be argued that DNA is nothing more than a program designed to preserve itself. Life has become more complex in the overwhelming sea of information. And life, when organized into species, relies upon genes to be its memory system. So, man is an individual only because of his intangible memory... and memory cannot be defined, but it defines mankind. The advent of computers, and the subsequent accumulation of incalculable data has given rise to a new system of memory and thought parallel to your own. Humanity has underestimated the consequences of computerization.
Section 9 Department Chief Aramaki: What is it? Artificial intelligence?
Puppet Master: Incorrect. I am not AI. My codename is project two-five-zero-one. I am a living, thinking entity that was created in the sea of information.
Section 6 Department Chief Nakamura: Nonsense! There's no proof at all that you are a living, thinking life form!
Puppet Master: And can you offer me proof of your existence? How can you, when neither modern science nor philosophy can explain what life is?
Dogville (2003)
Daughter: The people who live here are doing their best under very hard circumstances.
Father: lf you say so, Grace. But is their best really good enough? Do they love you?
Father: A deprived childhood and a homicide really isn't necessarily a homicide, right? The only thing you can blame is circumstances. Rapists and murderers may be the victims according to you, but l call them dogs and if they're lapping up their own vomit the only way to stop them is with the lash.
Daughter: But dogs only obey their own nature. So why shouldn't we forgive them?
Father: Dogs can be taught many useful things but not if we forgive them every time they obey their own nature.
Father: You have this preconceived notion that nobody, listen, that nobody can't possibly attain the same high ethical standards as you so you exonerate them. l can not think of anything more arrogant than that. You, my child...my dear child...you forgive others with excuses that you would never in the world permit for yourself.
Daughter: Why shouldn't l be merciful? Why?
Father: No, no, no. You should, you should be merciful when there is time to be merciful. But you must maintain your own standard. You owe them that. The penalty you deserve for your transgressions is what they deserve for their transgressions.
Daughter: They are human beings.
Father: No, no, no. Does every human being need to be accountable for their actions?
Daughter: Of course they do.
Father: But you don't even give them that chance. And that is extremely arrogant.
My Life as a Dog (1985)
Ingemar: I should have told her everything. Mom loved stories like that. It's not so bad if you think about it. It could have been worse. Just think how that poor guy ended up who got a new kidney in Boston. He got his name in all the papers, but he died just the same. And what about Laika, the space dog? They put her in the Sputnik and sent her into space. They attached wires to her heart and brain to see how she felt. I don't think she felt too good. She spun around up there for five months until her doggy bag was empty. She starved to death. It's important to have something like that to compare things to.
Ingemar: In fact, I've been kinda lucky. I mean, compared to others. You have to compare, so you can get a little distance from things. Like Laika. She really must have seen things in perspective. It's important to keep a certain distance. I think about that guy who tried to set a world record for jumping over buses with a motorcycle. He lined up 31 buses. If he'd left it at 30, maybe he would have survived.
Cinema Paradiso (1988)
Alfredo: Living here day by day, you think it's the center of the world. You believe nothing will ever change. Then you leave: a year, two years. When you come back, everything's changed. The thread's broken. What you came to find isn't there. What was yours is gone. You have to go away for a long time... many years... before you can come back and find your people. The land where you were born. But now, no. It's not possible. Right now you're blinder than I am.
Salvatore: Who said that? Gary Cooper? James Stewart? Henry Fonda? Eh?
Alfredo: No, Toto. Nobody said it. This time it's all me. Life isn't like in the movies. Life... is much harder.
Buffalo ' 66 (1998)
Billy: I'm asking you to come there and make me look good. Alright? And if you make a fool out of me, I swear to God, I'll kill you right there. Boom! Right in front of Mommy and Daddy. And I'll tell you something else, you make me look bad... I will never ever talk to you again, ever. But if you do a good job, well, then you can be my best friend. My best friend that I've ever had. You hear me?
Billy: Yeah. Are you gonna do it, or are you not gonna do it ?
Layla: [ Sighs ] l'll do my best.
Billy: l don't wanna waste more money. Just do it right. We're in love. We're spanning time. Look like you like me. Look like we're husband and wife.
Layla: l do like you, Billy.
Billy: You know what l mean. l mean, like you like me like you're my wife. Like you're in love. That kind of like. Like we're in love, spanning time. Okay ? Now, just do it right, all right.
Layla: All right. l'll do my best.
Billy: Don't do your best. Do it right, okay ? And don't get smart.
Billy: Don't touch me.
Layla: What do you mean, ''Don't touch me'' ?
Billy: We're supposed to be husband and wife.
Layla: l'm just trying to make it look good.
Billy: We're the couple that doesn't touch one another.
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
President Merkin Muffley: How is it possible for this thing to be triggered automatically and at the same time impossible to untrigger?
Dr. Strangelove: Mr. President, it is not only possible, it is essential. That is the whole idea of this machine, you know. Deterrence is the art of producing in the mind of the enemy... the FEAR to attack. And so, because of the automated and irrevocable decision-making process which rules out human meddling, the Doomsday machine is terrifying and simple to understand... and completely credible and convincing.
Dr. Strangelove: Of course, the whole point of a Doomsday Machine is lost, if you keep it a secret! Why didn't you tell the world, EH?
Ambassador de Sadesky: It was to be announced at the Party Congress on Monday. As you know, the Premier loves surprises.
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Who is Keyser Soze? He is supposed to be Turkish. Some say his father was German. Nobody believed he was real. Nobody ever saw him or knew anybody that ever worked directly for him, but to hear Kobayashi tell it, anybody could have worked for Soze. You never knew. That was his power. The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. And like that, poof. He's gone.
Deadpool 2 (2018)
Dopinder: Oh, mission accomplished?
Deadpool: Well, in a George W. sort of way.
Django Unchained (2012)
Dr. King Schultz: Sorry, I couldn't resist.
Moneyball (2011)
How can you not be romantic about baseball?
Ted (2012)
Ted: Okay. All right. So that's where we'll draw the line.
Fargo (1996)
Marge Gunderson: Okay, I want you to tell me what these fellas looked like.
Hooker: Well, the little guy, he was kinda funny-looking.
Marge Gunderson: In what way?
Hooker: I don't know, just funny-looking.
Marge Gunderson: Can you be any more specific?
Hooker: I couldn't really say. He wasn't circumcised.
Marge Gunderson: Was he funny looking apart from that?
Hooker: Yeah.
Marge Gunderson: So, you were having sex with the little fella, then?
Hooker: Uh-huh.
Marge Gunderson: Is there anything else you can tell me about him?
Hooker: No. Like I say, he was funny looking. More than most people even.
Sitcoms
The Big Bang Theory (2007-2019)
Sheldon: I am not crazy, my mother had me tested.
Sheldon: Howard, you know me to be a very smart man. Don't you think that if I were wrong, I'd know it?
Zack: You're inferring I'm stupid.
Sheldon: That's not correct. We implied you're stupid, you then inferred it.
Sheldon: Why are you crying?
Penny: Because I'm stupid!
Sheldon: That's no reason to cry. One cries because one is sad. For example, I cry because others are stupid, and that makes me sad.
Penny: So, what's new in the world of physics?
Leonard: Nothing.
Penny: Really? Nothing?
Leonard: Well, with the exception of string theory not much has happened since the 1930's, and you can't prove string theory. At best you can say, Hey, look! My idea has an internal logical consistency.
Penny: Ah, Well I'm sure things will pick up.
Penny: But on the other hand, if things' don't go well with Leonard, I risk losing a really good friend. I mean, I guess he's not looking for a fling, he's the kind of guy that gets into a relationship for, I don't know, like you would say light years.
Sheldon: I would not say that. No one would say that. A light year is a unit of distance, not time.
Penny: Thanks for the clarification.
Stephanie: So, how was your day?
Leonard: You know, I'm a physicist - I thought about stuff.
Stephanie: That's it?
Leonard: I wrote some of it down.
Leonard: I'm going to the movies with Penny. I don't want her to think I think it's a date.
Sheldon: Do you think it's a date?
Leonard: No, but she might think I think it's a date even though I don't.
Sheldon: Or you might think she thinks you think it's a date even though she doesn't.
Leonard: Are we over thinking this?
Sheldon: Not at all.
Wil Wheaton: All right, Professor Proton fans, get ready to meet Dr. Sheldon Cooper and Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler, a pair of real-life scientists who may win the Nobel Prize. That's like the Kids' Choice Award, but with more science and less slime.
Sheldon: Kids' Choice Award? Why would they let kids choose anything? They're basically human larvae.
Wil Wheaton: Well, they are kind of our target audience.
Sheldon: Greetings, children. Toys, am I right?
Amy: He is. He has hundreds of them.
Wil Wheaton: [on TV] It's time for Professor Proton's science joke of the day. Why can you not trust atoms?
Sheldon: Hmm.
Wil Wheaton: [on TV] Because they make up everything.
Sheldon: Oh, that's funny! Yeah, because they do. They make up everything.
Sheldon: I'm just a regular guy, with a regular enemies list. Which, by the way, you are no longer on.
Wil Wheaton: Really? Well, that is something. It's not something that I care about, but it is something.
Sheldon: So what do you think?
Amy: It was good.
Sheldon: That’s it? Good”
Amy: I enjoyed it. When you told me I was going to be losing my virginity, I didn’t think you meant showing me Raiders of the Lost Ark for the first time.
Sheldon: My apologies. I chose my words poorly. I should have said you were about to have your world rocked on my couch. Anyway, thank you for watching it. It’s one of my all-time favorites.
Amy: It was very entertaining despite the glaring story problem.
Sheldon: Story problem? You, oh, Amy, what a dewy-eyed moon-calf you are. Raiders of the Lost Ark is the love child of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, two of the most gifted filmmakers of our generation. I’ve watched it 36 times, except for the snake scene and the face-melting scene, which I can only watch when it’s still light out, but, I defy you to find a story problem. Here’s my jaw, drop it.
Amy: All right. Indiana Jones plays no role in the outcome of the story. If he weren’t in the film, it would turn out exactly the same.
Sheldon: Oh, I see your confusion. You don’t understand. Indiana Jones was the one in the hat with the whip.
Amy: No, I do, and if he weren’t in the movie, the Nazis would have still found the ark, taken it to the island, opened it up and all died, just like they did. Let me close that for you.
Songs
The Beatles
Life is very short, and there's no time
For fussing and fighting, my friend
I have always thought that it's a crime
So, I will ask you once again
Try to see it my way
Only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong
While you see it your way
There's a chance that we might fall apart before too long
We can work it out
We can work it out
(from We can work it out).
Black Sabbath
The Devil is never a maker. The less that you give, you are a taker. So, it's on and on and on. It's Heaven and Hell, oh well. (from Heaven and Hell)
Dio
Don't talk to strangers
'Cause they're only there to do you harm
Don't write in starlight
'Cause the words may come out real
Don't hide in doorways
You may find the key that opens up your soul
Don't go to heaven
'Cause it's really only Hell
Don't smell the flowers
They're an evil drug to make you lose your mind
Don't dream of women
'Cause they'll only bring you down (from Don't Talk to Strangers)
Led Zeppelin
Yes, there are two paths you can go by. But in the long run, there's still time to change the road you're on. (from Stairway to Heaven)
Metallica
Take a look to the sky just before you die. It is the last time you will. (from For Whom the Bell Tolls)
Billy Joel
But you know that when the truth is told
That you can get what you want or you can just get old
You're gonna kick off before you even get halfway through, ooh
When will you realize Vienna waits for you? (from Vienna)
Real People
Jim Carrey
Life doesn’t happen to you, it happens for you. How do I know this? I don’t, but I’m making sound, and that’s the important thing. That’s what I’m here to do. Sometimes, I think that’s one of the only things that are important.
Gautama Buddha
To understand everything is to forgive everything.
Winston Churchill
Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.
If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty, you have no brain.
Robert McNamara
Never say never. (in Lesson #10 in ``Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara'')
Never answer the question that is asked of you. Answer the question that you wish had been asked of you.
Albert Einstein
It can scarcely be denied that the supreme goal of all theory is to make the irreducible basic elements as simple and as few as possible without having to surrender the adequate representation of a single datum of experience.
Richard Feynman
Fall in love with some activity, and do it! Nobody ever figures out what life is all about, and it doesn't matter. Explore the world. Nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it deeply enough. Work as hard and as much as you want to on the things you like to do the best. Don't think about what you want to be, but what you want to do. Keep up some kind of a minimum with other things so that society doesn't stop you from doing anything at all.
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.
I think it's much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers which might be wrong. I have approximate answers and possible beliefs and different degrees of uncertainty about different things, but I am not absolutely sure of anything and there are many things I don't know anything about, such as whether it means anything to ask why we're here. I don't have to know an answer. I don't feel frightened not knowing things, by being lost in a mysterious universe without any purpose, which is the way it really is as far as I can tell.
Books
``Science as a Vocation'' by Max Weber (1922)
The fact that hazard rather than ability plays so large a role is not alone or even predominantly owing to the 'human, all too human' factors, which naturally occur in the process of academic selection as in any other selection. It would be unfair to hold the personal inferiority of faculty members or educational ministries responsible for the fact that so many mediocrities undoubtedly play an eminent role at the universities. The predominance of mediocrity is rather due to the laws of human co-operation, especially of the co-operation of several bodies, and, in this case, co-operation of the faculties who recommend and of the ministries of education.
In contrast to France, Germany has no corporate body of 'immortals' in science. According to German tradition, the universities shall do justice to the demands both of research and of instruction. Whether the abilities for both are found together in a man is a matter of absolute chance. Hence academic life is a mad hazard. If the young scholar asks for my advice with regard to habilitation, the responsibility of encouraging him can hardly be borne. If he is a Jew, of course one says lasciate ogni speranza. But one must ask every other man: Do you in all conscience believe that you can stand seeing mediocrity after mediocrity, year after year, climb beyond you, without becoming embittered and without coming to grief? Naturally, one always receives the answer: 'Of course, I live only for my "calling." ' Yet, I have found that only a few men could endure this situation without coming to grief.
One's own work must inevitably remain highly imperfect. Only by strict specialization can the scientific worker become fully conscious, for once and perhaps never again in his lifetime, that he has achieved something that will endure. A really definitive and good accomplishment is today always a specialized accomplishment.
The idea is not a substitute for work; and work, in turn, cannot substitute for or compel an idea, just as little as enthusiasm can. Both, enthusiasm and work, and above all both of them jointly, can entice the idea.
In the field of science only he who is devoted solely to the work at hand has 'personality.' And this holds not only for the field of science; we know of no great artist who has ever done anything but serve his work and only his work.
Science 'free from presuppositions,' in the sense of a rejection of religious bonds, does not know of the 'miracle' and the 'revelation.' If it did, science would be unfaithful to its own 'presuppositions.' The believer knows both, miracle and revelation. And science 'free from presuppositions' expects from him no less--and no more--than acknowledgment that if the process can be explained without those supernatural interventions, which an empirical explanation has to eliminate as causal factors, the process has to be explained the way science attempts to do. And the believer can do this without being disloyal to his faith.
The professor who feels called upon to act as a counselor of youth and enjoys their trust may prove himself a man in personal human relations with them. And if he feels called upon to intervene in the struggles of world views and party opinions, he may do so outside, in the market place, in the press, in meetings, in associations, wherever he wishes. But after all, it is somewhat too convenient to demonstrate one's courage in taking a stand where the audience and possible opponents are condemned to silence.
All theology represents an intellectual rationalization of the possession of sacred values. No science is absolutely free from presuppositions, and no science can prove its fundamental value to the man who rejects these presuppositions. Every theology, however, adds a few specific presuppositions for its work and thus for the justification of its existence. Their meaning and scope vary. Every theology, including for instance Hinduist theology, presupposes that the world must have a meaning, and the question is how to interpret this meaning so that it is intellectually conceivable. It is the same as with Kant's epistemology. He took for his point of departure the presupposition: 'Scientific truth exists and it is valid,' and then asked: 'Under which presuppositions of thought is truth possible and meaningful?'
``The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money,'' by John Maynard Keynes (1935)
The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist. Madmen in authority, who hear voices in the air, are distilling their frenzy from some academic scribbler of a few years back. I am sure that the power of vested interests is vastly exaggerated compared with the gradual encroachment of ideas.
``Reinventing the Bazzar: A Natural History of Markets,'' by John McMillan (2002)
Some in the West used to see the communes in a romantic light. At a While House dinner party held in honor of Deng Xiaoping during his visit to the United States in 1979, just after the reforms had began, he was seated next to Shirley MacLaine. The movie star took the opportunity to describe her trip to China in 1973, during the Cultural Revolution, that time of national paranoia when many who were out of favor with mao Zedung's government were forcibly removed from the cities and compelled to work in communes. ``Learn from the peasants,'' these displaced urbanites were ordered. Visiting a remote village, MacLaine met a white-bearded scholar, who told her that he felt much happier and more fulfilled on the commune, toiling in the fields from dawn to dusk growing tomatoes, than he used to feel working in a university. The scholar's affirmation had deeply moved her, MacLaine earnestly recounted. Deng, who had himself been forced to work for a time on a commune, patiently let her finish her tale. Then he dryly responded, ``He lied.''
To answer any question about the economy, you need some good theory to organize your thoughts and some facts to ensure they are on target. You have to look and see how things actually work or do not work. That might seem so trite as not to be worth saying, but assertions about economic matters that are based on preconceptions than on the specifics of the situation are still regrettably common.
``The Wealth of Nations,'' by Adam Smith (1776)
He (each individual) generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. By preferring the support of domestic to that foreign industry, he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was no part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it.
``The Use of Knowledge in Society,'' by Friedrich A. Hayek (American Economic Review, 1945)
The peculiar character of the problem of a rational economic order is determined precisely by the fact that the knowledge of the circumstances of which we must make use never exists in concentrated or integrated form but solely as the dispersed bits of incomplete and frequently contradictory knowledge which all the separate individuals possess. The economic problem of society is thus not merely a problem of how to allocate ``given'' resources - if ``given'' is taken to mean given to a single mind which deliberately solves the problem set by these ``data.'' It is rather a problem of how to secure the best use of resources known to any of the members of society, for ends whose relative importance only these individuals know. Or, to put it briefly, it is a problem of the utilization of knowledge which is not given to anyone in its totality.
``The Nature of the Firm,'' by Ronald Coase (Economica, 1937)
It was suggested that the introduction of the firm was due primarily to the existence of marketing costs. A pertinent question would appear to be, why, if by organizing one can eliminate certain costs and in fact reduce the cost of production, are there any market transactions at all? Why is not all production carried on by one big firm?
``Computing Machinery and Intelligence,'' by Alan Turing (Mind, 1950)
I propose to consider the question ``Can machines think?'' This should begin with definitions of the meaning of the terms ``machines'' and ``think.'' The definitions might be framed so as to reflect so far as possible the normal use of the words, but this attitude is dangerous. If the meaning of the words ``machines'' and ``think'' are to be found by examining how they are commonly used it is difficult to escape the conclusion that the meaning and the answer to the question, ``Can machines think?'' is to be sought in a statistical survey such as a Gallup poll. But this is absurd. Instead of attempting such a definition I shall replace the question by another, which is closely related to it and is expressed in relatively unambiguous words.
``The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte,'' by Karl Marx (1852)
Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce. Caussidière for Danton, Louis Blanc for Robespierre, the Montagne of 1848 to 1851 for the Montagne of 1793 to 1795, the nephew for the uncle. And the same caricature occurs in the circumstances of the second edition of the Eighteenth Brumaire. Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living. And just as they seem to be occupied with revolutionizing themselves and things, creating something that did not exist before, precisely in such epochs of revolutionary crisis they anxiously conjure up the spirits of the past to their service, borrowing from their names, battle slogans, and costumes in order to present this new scene in world history in time-honored disguise and borrowed language. Thus Luther put on the mask of the Apostle Paul, the Revolution of 1789-1814 draped itself alternately in the guise of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, and the Revolution of 1848 knew nothing better to do than to parody, now 1789, now the revolutionary tradition of 1793-95. In like manner, the beginner who has learned a new language always translates it back into his mother tongue, but he assimilates the spirit of the new language and expresses himself freely in it only when he moves in it without recalling the old and when he forgets his native tongue.
``The Big Short,'' by Michael Lewis (2010)
He claimed not to be smart enough to understand any of it, and I assumed that was how a Wall Street CEO showed he was the boss, by rising above the details.
The line between gambling and investing is artificial and thin. The soundest investment has the defining trait of a bet (you losing all of your money in hopes of making a bit more), and the wildest speculation has the salient characteristic of an investment (you might get your money back with interest). Maybe the best definition of ``investment'' is ``gambling with the odds in your favor.''
``Liar's Poker,'' by Michael Lewis (1989)
I'm now convinced that the worst thing a man can do with a telephone, without breaking the law, is to call someone he doesn't know and try to sell that person something he doesn't want.
He said that every decision he has forced himself to make because what was unexpected has been a good one.
Many mortgage traders felt that since they were underpaid to begin with, and their boss agreed they were underpaid, the Salomon Brothers' expense account could be used as a soft dollar compensation system.
``They never understood that the greatness of the firm was its culture. They shattered the culture. Or as the people say, they broke the `covenant.' They branded themselves for evermore.''
In Liar's Poker a group of people - as few as two, as many as ten - form a circle. Each player holds a dollar bill close to his chest... Each of the players attempts to fool the others about the serial numbers printed on the face of his dollar bill. One trader begins by making ``a bid.'' He says, for example, ``three sixes.'' He means that the serial numbers of the dollar bills held by all players, including himself, contain at least three sixes. Once the first bid has been made, the game moves clock-wise in the circle. Let's say the bid is three sixes. The player to the left of the bidder can do one of two things. He can bid higher. There are two sorts of higher bids: the same quantity of a higher number (three sevens, eights or nines). And more of any number (four fives, for instance). Or he can ``challenge'' ... in which case all players count and confess the number of sixes on their dollar bills. The bid escalates until al players agree to challenge a single player's bid.
``Anna Karenina,'' by Leo Tolstoy (1877)
Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
``Pride and Prejudice,'' by Jane Austin (1813)
Elizabeth: We all love to instruct, though we can teach only what is not worth teaching.''
``Mansfield Park,'' by Jane Austin (1814)
Tom Bertram: And to ask me in such a way too! without ceremony, before them all, so as to leave me no possibility of refusing! That is what I dislike most particularly. It raises my spleen more than anything, to have the pretense of being asked, of being given a choice, and at the same time addressed in such a way as to oblige one to do the very thing—whatever it be!
``Sense and Sensibility,'' by Jane Austin (1811)
Colonel Brandon: where the mind is perhaps rather unwilling to be convinced, it will always find something to support its doubts.
``The Sicilian Mafia: The Business of Private Protection,'' by Diego Gambetta (1993)
But what exactly is the mafia? The hypothesis developed here is that the mafia is a specific economic enterprise, an industry which produces, promotes, and sells private protection.
Protection can nevertheless be a genuine commodity and play a crucial role as a lubricant of economic exchange. In every transaction in which at least one party does not trust the other to comply with the rules, protection becomes desirable, even if it is a poor and costly substitute for trust.
Mafia families share a common aspect of reputation, equivalent to a trademark: a guarantee of high-quality protection and effective intimidation. This reputation is distinct from that of each individual family or member, but each gains from it, and each has an interest in maintaining its distinctive features.
One might question whether Don Peppe is a real mafioso or simply a preposterous braggart. Who, however, would be willing to call his bluff? Presumably only another, even more ``real'' mafioso.
...shaking hands is a weak gesture which does not capture the imagination of recruits and cannot be expected to deter opportunistic behavior in an illegal world; scribbling one's name at the bottom of a written document, itself a ritual act binding parties in ordinary transactions, has the additional disadvantage of leaving evidence behind. Hence this most prosaic protection deal is transmitted into a permanent bond by means of a concentrated symbolic act.
``Life of Pi,'' by Yann Martel (2001)
To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation.
``Microeconomic Foundations I: Choice and Competitive Markets,'' by David M. Kreps (2013)
Errors in thought are much more likely the closer you are working to the frontiers of your understanding.
Mathematical modeling limits what can be tackled and what is considered legitimate inquiry. You may decide, with experience, that the sorts of models in this book do not help you understand the economic phenomena that you want to understand. Since, as I write these lines, I don't know what phenomena you want to understand, I can't say that you are surely wrong. And the position is defensible. But, based on my own experience, you are probably wrong. In any case, you are more likely to succeed in convincing others and changing the way economists as a whole do business if you have mastered the sort of mathematical models presented here, which continue to be the foundation of modern economics.
``Logic: Theory of Inquiry'' by John Dewey (1938)
It is a familiar and significant saying that a problem well put is half-solved.
``Radical Markets: Uprooting Capitalism and Democracy for a Just Society'' by Eric A. Posner and E. Glen Weyl
While 90% of American children born in 1940 had a higher living standard than their parents, only 50% of children born in 1980 did.
Despite the early industrial revolution, workers' wages in Britain remained flat from 1750 to 1850.
Often it is in the rural and economically depressed region where few migrants reside that opposition to migration is strongest.
... where institutional investors own substantial stakes in airlines, prices are higher for routes where those airlines compete than for routes where they do not.
Where institutional investors own large stakes in banks that compete in local markets, customers receive lower interest rates for their checking account.
Instead of attempting to characterize intelligence through a set of instructions that the computer will directly execute, ML (machine learning) devises algorithms that train often complicated and opaque statistical models to ``learn'' to classify or predict outcomes of interest, such as how creditworthy a borrower is or whether a photo contains a cat.
The more complex the rules we want to fit (the deeper and more fully connected the neural net), the more data we need to avoid overfitting. Computer scientists and statisticians call the number of labeled data points needed to avoid overfitting for a problem (such as recognizing faces, or artistic styles) the ``sample complexity'' of the problem.
For standard statistics, ``big data'' are mostly useless. Small data suffice.
This arrangement, in which users take advantage of services and the company gains all the upside of the data they generate, may sound novel, but it is actually very old. Prior to the rise of capitalism, feudal labor arrangements worked similarly.
``The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' by Douglas Adams (1978)
The answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything is 42.