“Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.”

— Steven Wright

Last update Aug. 8, 2025. History

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Steven Wright 178

American actor and author 1955

Jill Shalvis (1963) American writer

Source: Simply Irresistible

“People get ready there's a train comin';
You don't need no baggage, just get on board.
All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin';
You don't need no ticket, just thank the lord.”

Curtis Mayfield (1942–1999) American singer, songwriter, and record producer

People Get Ready, performed by The Impressions, from People Get Ready (1965).
Song lyrics

“You don't need something more to get something more. That's what emergence means.”

Murray Gell-Mann (1929–2019) American physicist

TED talk on beauty and truth in physics — video TC 14m48s (March 2007) http://ted.com/index.php/talks/murray_gell_mann_on_beauty_and_truth_in_physics.html.
Context: You don't need something more to get something more. That's what emergence means. Life can emerge from physics and chemistry plus a lot of accidents. The human mind can arise from neurobiology and a lot of accidents, the way the chemical bond arises from physics and certain accidents. Doesn't diminish the importance of these subjects to know they follow from more fundamental things plus accidents.