Yoshida Kenkō (1283–1350) japanese writer
73
Essays in Idleness (1967 Columbia University Press, Trns: Donald Keene)
“A child, not knowing what is extraordinary and what is commonplace, usually lights midway between the two, finds interest in incidents adults consider beneath notice, and calmly accepts the most improbable occurrences.”
Fiction, "The Fifth Head of Cerberus", Orbit 10 (1972)
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Maxfield Parrish (1870–1966) American painter and illustrator
"Bit of a Come-Back Puzzles Parrish" in The New York Times (3 June 1964)
Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) American politician, 40th president of the United States (in office from 1981 to 1989)
1980s, First term of office (1981–1985), First Inaugural address (1981)
Context: To a few of us here today this is a solemn and most momentous occasion, and yet in the history of our nation it is a commonplace occurrence. The orderly transfer of authority as called for in the Constitution routinely takes place, as it has for almost two centuries, and few of us stop to think how unique we really are. In the eyes of many in the world, this every-four-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.
Ken MacLeod book Learning the World
Source: Learning the World (2005), Chapter 7 “Television” (p. 110)
John Leonard (1939–2008) American critic, writer, and commentator
"Books of the Times" http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9506EFD61038F930A1575AC0A964948260&scp=62&sq=&st=nyt, The New York Times (23 September 1982)
“What is an adult? A child blown up by age.”
Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986) French writer, intellectual, existentialist philosopher, political activist, feminist, and social theorist
A Woman Destroyed [Une femme rompue] (1967)
General sources
E. Lee Spence (1947) German anthropologist, photographer, archaeologist, historian, photojournalist and academic
Diving Into Sunken-Treasure Investing http://www.cnbc.com/id/39342234, CNBC Special Report by Shelly K. Scwartz, Published: October 18, 2010.
“Faith may be defined briefly as an illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable.”
Tom Stoppard (1937) British playwright
1920s, Prejudices, Third Series (1922)
“Faith may be defined briefly as an illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable.”
H.L. Mencken (1880–1956) American journalist and writer
Source: 1920s, Prejudices, Third Series (1922), Ch. 14 "Types of Men" - 3 : The Believer
Source: Prejudices: Third Series