Gordon R. Dickson: Quotes about people

Gordon R. Dickson was Canadian-American science fiction writer. Explore interesting quotes on people.
Gordon R. Dickson: 38 quotes1 like

“Exaggeration of confidence,” he said, “is a fault in people who don’t know their business.”

Gordon R. Dickson book Tactics of Mistake

This is an early statement of what would come to be known as the Dunning–Kruger effect.
Source: Tactics of Mistake (1971), Chapter 20 (p. 315).

“The immediate teaching of philosophers may be gentle, but the theory behind their teaching is without compunction—and that’s why so much bloodshed and misery has always attended the paths of their followers, who claim to live by those teachings. More blood’s been spilled by the militant adherents of prophets of change than by any other group of people down through the history of man.”

Gordon R. Dickson book Tactics of Mistake

Source: Tactics of Mistake (1971), Chapter 6 (p. 195)

“Plainly he was one of those rare people who burn with an inner fire—but the inner fire that never failed in James Arm-of-the-Lord was a brand of woe and a torch of terror to the Unrighteous. Nor was it lessened by the fact that the ranks of the Unrighteous, in James’ estimation, included all those whose opinions in any way differed from his own.”

Gordon R. Dickson book Tactics of Mistake

Source: Tactics of Mistake (1971), Chapter 22 (p. 328)

““And someone that brilliant must be a devil?” queried Galt, dryly.
“Not at all,” explained Donal, patiently. “But having such intellectual capabilities, a man must show proportionately greater inclinations toward either good or evil than lesser people. If he tends toward evil, he may mask it in himself—he may even mask its effect on the people with which he surrounds himself. But he has no way of producing the reflections of good which would ordinarily be reflected from his lieutenants and initiates—and which, if he was truly good—he would have no reason to try and hide. And by that lack, you can read him.””

Gordon R. Dickson book Dorsai!

“Mercenary II” (section 4, p. 386)
Dorsai! (1960)