“Probably I am very naive, but I also think I prefer to remain so, at least for the time being and perhaps for the rest of my life.”

— Edsger W. Dijkstra

Refering to his conclusion to the Barber paradox or Russell's paradox. <br class="br">Dijkstra (1985) Where is Russell's paradox? http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/transcriptions/EWD09xx/EWD923a.html (EWD 923A). <br class="br">1980s

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Probably I am very naive, but I also think I prefer to remain so, at least for the time being and perhaps for the rest …" by Edsger W. Dijkstra?

Edsger W. Dijkstra68

Dutch computer scientist 1930–2002

Bo Hi Pak (1930–2019) South Korean member of the Unification Church

Inquisition: The Persecution and Prosecution of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, by Carlton Sherwood, 1991, Regnery Gateway, page 558, isbn 9780895265326

“I think my reputation is something that I'll probably try to spend the rest of my life living it down and it probably won't work.”

Russell Crowe (1964) New Zealand-born Australian actor, film producer and musician

60 Minutes interview (2006)

“I confess that I am no longer thinking in musical terms, or at least not much, even though I believe with all my heart that Music remains for all time the finest means of expression we have.”

Claude Debussy (1862–1918) French composer

Letter to Paul Dukas (1901)
Context: I confess that I am no longer thinking in musical terms, or at least not much, even though I believe with all my heart that Music remains for all time the finest means of expression we have. It’s just that I find the actual pieces — whether they’re old or modern, which is in any case merely a matter of dates — so totally poverty-stricken, manifesting an inability to see beyond the work-table. They smell of the lamp, not of the sun. And then, overshadowing everything, there’s the desire to amaze one’s colleagues with arresting harmonies, quite unnecessary for the most part. In short, these days especially, music is devoid of emotional impact. I feel that, without descending to the level of the gossip column or the novel, it should be possible to solve the problem somehow. There’s no need either for music to make people think! … It would be enough if music could make people listen, despite themselves and despite their petty mundane troubles, and never mind if they’re incapable of expressing anything resembling an opinion. It would be enough if they could no longer recognize their own grey, dull faces, if they felt that for a moment they had been dreaming of an imaginary country, that’s to say, one that can’t be found on the map.

“Life is merely terrible; I feel it as few others do. Often — and in my inmost self perhaps all the time — I doubt whether I am a human being.”

Franz Kafka (1883–1924) author

“I am sure I speak for all my sisters when I say that we prefer to be known as directors, not just as women directors. To the eternal question that I am plagued with — what is the main disadvantage of being a woman director — my answer is: being endlessly harangued with this very question”

Sai Paranjpye (1938) Indian film director

FirstPost article by Chintan Girish Modi - Originally an excerpt from Sai Paranjpye's English Autobiography titled "A Patchwork Quilt: A Collage of My Creative Life", published by HarperCollins India - In A Patchwork Quilt, renowned filmmaker Sai Paranjpye reflects on her creative practice, flaws, and failures https://www.firstpost.com/art-and-culture/in-a-patchwork-quilt-renowned-filmmaker-sai-paranjpye-reflects-on-her-creative-practice-flaws-and-failures-9087461.html - 8 December 2020 - Archive https://web.archive.org/web/20210901095737/https://www.firstpost.com/art-and-culture/in-a-patchwork-quilt-renowned-filmmaker-sai-paranjpye-reflects-on-her-creative-practice-flaws-and-failures-9087461.html <br class="br">Quotes from Sai Paranjpye

“I'm here to change the world, and if I am not, I am probably wasting my time.”

Utah Phillips (1935–2008) American labor organizer, folk singer, storyteller and poet

Kupfer, David, "Utah Phillips" http://progressive.org/mag/interview/utahphillips, The Progressive. September 2003. Web. August 6, 2013.

““‘Naive’ is not a word I associate with the Southern Rule. Superstitious, perhaps, traditional, yes, maddeningly set in their way, certainly—but not naive.”
“I meant you are naive. They must have a hidden motive.”
“This is why I have no politics,” said Darvin. “I can’t think in those terms.””

Ken MacLeod book Learning the World

Source: Learning the World (2005), Chapter 14 “The Extraordinary and Remarkable Ship” (p. 237)

“I am not shooting at immortality through my books, no. Nor do I think Chopin was shooting at immortality through his music. That strikes me as a very selfish goal, and I don't think Chopin was particularly selfish. I would also say that I think that music comes much closer to capturing the essence of a composer's soul than do a writer's ideas capture the writer's soul. Perhaps some very emotional ideas that I express in my books can get across a bit of the essence of my soul to some readers, but I think that Chopin's music probably does a lot better job”

Douglas Hofstadter (1945) American professor of cognitive science

and the same holds, of course, for many composers

“I want the program to be very open and develop in style as time goes on. But I am also interested in the positive aspects of Asian family life and other Asian qualities, although overall, my style is very informal.”

Vernon Corea (1927–2002) The legendary broadcaster – a pioneer with Radio Ceylon/Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation and the BBC.

Vernon Corea The Golden Voice of Radio Ceylon http://ivan_corea.tripod.com : Vernon Corea on 'London Sounds Eastern'.

“I think "immoral" is probably the wrong word to use…I prefer the word "unethical."”

Ivan Boesky (1937) American investor, white-collar criminal

Den of Thieves (1992), by John B. Stewart

“Probably I am very naive, but I also think I prefer to remain so, at least for the time being and perhaps for the rest of my life.”

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Edsger W. Dijkstra68

Related quotes

Related topics