Quotes about understanding
page 73

George Marshall photo
George Marshall photo

“Sometimes it's a mighty struggle to know what's real and what's just . . . a mirage. You understand?”

Tim Winton (1960) Australian writer

"Yeah," I said.
Part II, Ch.1 - p.132
The Shepherd's Hut (2018)

Robert Menzies photo

“The highest production and living standards cannot be achieved without a new and human spirit in the industrial world. No industry can succeed without the co-operation of capital, management and labour. Each must be encouraged. Each must be fairly rewarded. Between the three there must be mutual understanding and respect.”

Robert Menzies (1894–1978) Australian politician, 12th Prime Minister of Australia

1949 election campaign speech https://electionspeeches.moadoph.gov.au/speeches/1949-robert-menzies, delivered in Melbourne on November 10, 1949
Wilderness Years (1941-1949)

Donald J. Trump photo

“We are losing a lot of people to the Internet. We have to do something. We have to go see Bill Gates and a lot of different people that really understand what's happening. We have to talk to them [about], maybe in certain areas, closing that Internet up in some way. Some people will say, ‘Freedom of speech, Freedom of speech.'”

Donald J. Trump (1946) 45th President of the United States of America

These are foolish people.
Google's Eric Schmidt calls for 'spell-checkers for hate and harassment' https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/dec/08/googles-eric-schmidt-spell-checkers-hate-harassment-terrorism, 8 December 2015, by Alex Hern.
2015

Elizabeth Blackwell photo
Gregory Benford photo

“She could not understand why people feared new ideas. She was frightened by the old ones.”

Gregory Benford (1941) Science fiction author and astrophysicist

Source: Short fiction, Vortex, p. 111

“We have to understand what sports is and what sports isn't and I think if we do that in the right way sports can come back appropriately that's what we want sports to come back appropriate and I think that's what the governor was eluding to this summer.”

Larry Baer (1957) MLB Executive

SF Giants CEO Larry Baer weighs in on MLB returning without fans https://abc7news.com/sf-giants-when-does-baseball-season-start-mlb-date-new-rules/6195145/, ABC 7 News (May 19, 2020)

Ernest Becker photo
Jean-Michel Cousteau photo
Fabien Cousteau photo
Fabien Cousteau photo
Céline Cousteau photo
Kate Williams (historian) photo

“Our understanding of history and the country is shaped by the images the survive.”

Kate Williams (historian) (1974) British historian

https://www.express.co.uk/comment/expresscomment/1356274/memory-lane-personal-memories-pictures-photographs
Your personal Memory Lane is a treasure trove of fantastic memories, says KATE WILLIAMS
The Express
5 November 2020
2 May 2021

Thomas Carlyle photo
Afrika Bambaataa photo
Walter Lippmann photo
Tenzin Gyatso photo
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe photo
Thich Nhat Hanh photo
Isocrates photo
Nelson Mandela photo
Albert Einstein photo
Frithjof Schuon photo
Frithjof Schuon photo

“I can't leave my people, though I understand completely why they are going. The situation has become intolerable.”

Yousif Abba (1951) Iraqi bishop

‘The Church is finished’ – Iraq’s Christians under siege https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/world-insider/the-church-is-finished-iraqs-christians-under-siege/article21820308/ (November 28, 2014)

Frithjof Schuon photo

“Humanly, no one escapes the obligation to "believe in order to be able to understand"”

Frithjof Schuon (1907–1998) Swiss philosopher

credo ut intelligam
[2013, From the Divine to the Human, World Wisdom, 33, 978-1-936597-32-1]
Spiritual life, Faith

Nima Arkani-Hamed photo

“... nature has very few good ideas — it recycles them in subtle and interesting ways, over and over again — and it's our job to understand how that works.”

Nima Arkani-Hamed (1972) American-Canadian physicist

[A Conversation with Nima Arkani-Hamed: The Power of Principles, Physics Revealed (Part II), April 2, 2021, Ideas Roadshow, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzSDZ_EPiXk] (quote at 51:12 of 52:41)

Walter Cronkite photo

“Perhaps if all the peoples of the world understand what war really means,we would eliminate it.”

Walter Cronkite (1916–2009) American broadcast journalist

Free the Airwaves! (2002)

Ol' Dirty Bastard photo

“Ladies don't love shit. Ladies just act like they love. You understand what I'm sayin?”

Ol' Dirty Bastard (1968–2004) American rapper

It's an act when it comes to Ol Dirty Bastard. They ACT like they love Ol Dirty - ladies don't love Ol Dirty Bastard because … Ol Dirty Bastard is busy lovin' them. They might like Ol Dirty Bastard, know what I'm sayin? They might listen to his music or something, but really they don't pay no mind. They pay nothing no mind, nothing is paid a mind to, really, on this earth. It's just living, and dying. The world is a big ball of fire and it's just burning with no feeling.
Dirty Minded Documentary

Albert Einstein photo

“Since others have explained my theory, I can no longer understand it myself.”

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity

Source: Attributed in posthumous publications, Einstein and the Poet (1983), p. 13

Megan Whalen Turner photo
Ahmad Sirhindi photo

“Like many fundamentalists, Sirhindi has no tolerance for philosophers, since he believed that “the human intellect is incapable of understanding properly the nature of God without prophetic assistance.””

Ahmad Sirhindi (1564–1624) Indian philosopher

But this rejection of the philosophers also “leads him to an equally indignant rejection of their [the philosophers] natural sciences. Their geometry, astronomy, logic, and mathematics are useless as far as the hereafter is concerned and fall therefore within the category of ‘inconsequential things’ [mā lā ya‘nī].”
Ibn, Warraq (2017). The Islam in Islamic terrorism: The importance of beliefs, ideas, and ideology. ch 15, quoting Yohanan Friedmann, Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi, An Outline of His Thought and a Study of His Image in the Eyes of Posterity (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1971), 53ff

Paulo Coelho photo
Paulo Coelho photo
Isaac Asimov photo

“At least try to see my motives. Granted that I was foolish—criminally foolish—can’t you understand? Can’t you try not to hate me?”

Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, known for his works of science fiction …

She said softly, “I have tried not to love you and, as you see, I have failed.”
Source: Empire novels (1950–1952), The Stars, Like Dust (1951), Chapter 19 “Defeat!” (p. 163)

Rose Wilder Lane photo

“What I can't understand is, how can anybody figure now that the government can support us, when we support the government.”

Rose Wilder Lane (1886–1968) American journalist

Source: Give Me Liberty (1936), p. 47

Charles Stross photo
Mary L. Trump photo

“I do feel that I have to do whatever I can to make sure that people are informed and understand exactly what's going on with this man.”

Mary L. Trump (1965) American clinical psychologist and author

Mary Trump's insider interview on 'most dangerous' President (Jul 26, 2020)

Seneca the Younger photo

“You will thus understand that what you fear is either insignificant or short-lived.”

Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium (Moral Letters to Lucilius), Letter XXIV: On despising death

Prevale photo

“I would like every day to feel the scent of your skin, like the taste of your kiss, admire your sensuality, perceive your sweetness, listen to the beating of your heart, understand the depth of your soul, rejoice with your smile, have fun with your liking and be able to fully live your harmony.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: (it) Vorrei ogni giorno poter sentire il profumo della tua pelle, gradire il sapore di un tuo bacio, ammirare la tua sensualità, percepire la tua dolcezza, ascoltare il battito del tuo cuore, comprendere la profondità della tua anima, gioire con il tuo sorriso, divertirmi con la tua simpatia e poter vivere appieno la tua armonia.
Source: prevale.net

John Steinbeck photo
Sai Paranjpye photo

“Women actually have a fantastic sense of humour, better than men. Men tend to have crass and predictable humour. Women see human foibles and minute details, and they can laugh at eccentricities and peculiarities. They are also more understanding. Go ahead and quote me and let me make some enemies.”

Sai Paranjpye (1938) Indian film director

Scroll.in article by Nandini Ramnath - Sai Paranjpye interview: ‘I guess I was born with a grin’ https://scroll.in/reel/979306/sai-paranjpye-interview-i-guess-i-was-born-with-a-grin - 28 November 2020 - Archive https://web.archive.org/web/20210901094227/https://scroll.in/reel/979306/sai-paranjpye-interview-i-guess-i-was-born-with-a-grin
Quotes from Sai Paranjpye

Mooji photo
Mooji photo
Tucker Carlson photo
Ngô Thanh Vân photo

“When I have lived enough to a certain age, I will not bring a man to measure to a certain extent or to a certain standard. The most important thing right now is to find someone who understands me.”

Ngô Thanh Vân (1979) Vietnamese singer and actress

"Ngô Thanh Vân: 'Tôi không còn nghĩ đến chuyện chồng con'" in Thanh Niên (10 March 2019) https://thanhnien.vn/van-hoa/ngo-thanh-van-toi-khong-con-nghi-den-chuyen-chong-con-1058998.html

John Steinbeck photo
Joachim von Ribbentrop photo

“God protect Germany. God have mercy on my soul. My final wish is that Germany should recover her unity and that, for the sake of peace, there should be an understanding between East and West. I wish peace to the world.”

Joachim von Ribbentrop (1893–1946) German general

Last words as quoted in The Execution of Nazi War Criminals (1946) by Kingsbury Smith of the International News Service

Justine Greening photo

“You can't pick & choose on human rights and equality. Children should understand a modern and diverse Britain they're growing up in.”

Justine Greening (1969) British politician

Tory leadership contest: Iain Duncan Smith warns of 'chaos' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48458370 BBC News (30 May 2019)
2019

Carlo Rovelli photo
Carlo Rovelli photo
Joe Armstrong photo
Joe Armstrong photo

“This is a thing that really scares me, are people developing large applications that they don’t understand.”

Joe Armstrong (1950–2019) British computer scientist

The forgotten advantage of concurrent programming

Natalie Wynn photo
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya photo

“But I understand I have no right to give up, because people who are in jail didn't give up. They now are suffering for us. Only these people, the families of those repressed in Belarus, have given me the energy to go on.”

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (1982) Belarusian politician and educator

"Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya says 'harsh' sanctions needed" in DW https://www.dw.com/en/belarus-opposition-leader-sviatlana-tsikhanouskaya-says-harsh-sanctions-needed/a-57869000 (12 June 2021)

Emma Goldman photo

“The motto should not be: Forgive one another; rather, Understand one another.”

Anarchism and Other Essays (1910), The Tragedy of Woman’s Emancipation

Imbolo Mbue photo

“It's so hard to be a stranger in a strange land. I don't think most people understand how difficult it is to leave behind what you know and come to a country where everything about you is considered "different."”

Imbolo Mbue (1982) Cameroonian writer

On being a stranger in “Oprah Talks to Behold the Dreamers Author Imbolo Mbue” http://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/oprahs-book-club-imbolo-mbue-interview-august-2017-o-magazine#ixzz65IgPILHu in O Magazine

Viktor Tsoi photo

“The most important thing is that we would like people to reach some kind of mutual understanding, so that these huge mixed nationalities, religions, social order, finally understand each other, if possible ... And then everything would fall into place, and there are no more desires would not be.”

Viktor Tsoi (1962–1990) Soviet rock musician (1962-1990)

"Appendix I. Viktor Tsoi: interview diary" https://ik-ptz.ru/en/istoriya/prilozhenie-i-viktor-coi-dnevnik-intervyu-fragmenty-iz-odnoimennoi.html

Viktor Tsoi photo

“I feel that now I can’t always reach an understanding with someone, especially with people of an older generation. I find it difficult in this situation, because they think differently. Naturally, people cannot think alike, but they must understand each other. That's why they are people.”

Viktor Tsoi (1962–1990) Soviet rock musician (1962-1990)

As quoted in an interview with newspaper Youth of Estonia (1988), " 'Almost everyone can forgive us for honesty': the rules of life of Viktor Tsoi, who passed away 29 years ago" in Forum Daily https://www.forumdaily.com/en/nam-za-chestnost-mogut-prostit-prakticheski-vse-pravila-zhizni-viktora-coya-ushedshego-29-let-nazad/ (15 August 2019)

Menotti Lerro photo

“Men were born to die! Life has only one purpose: to understand the sense of your own misery.”

Menotti Lerro (1980) Italian poet

Donna Giovanna, Act IV, scene iii.

Menotti Lerro photo
Menotti Lerro photo

“We should live two lives in order to understand the world: one as a man and the other as a woman.”

Menotti Lerro (1980) Italian poet

Bisognerebbe vivere due vite per capire il mondo: una come uomo e l’altra come donna.

Mwanandeke Kindembo photo
Mwanandeke Kindembo photo
Mwanandeke Kindembo photo
Mwanandeke Kindembo photo
Mwanandeke Kindembo photo
Mwanandeke Kindembo photo
Mwanandeke Kindembo photo
Mwanandeke Kindembo photo
Mwanandeke Kindembo photo
Frithjof Schuon photo
Frithjof Schuon photo

“To accept a trial is to thank God for it, with the understanding that it permits us a victory, a detachment with regard to the world and with regard to the ego.”

Frithjof Schuon (1907–1998) Swiss philosopher

[2012, Echoes of Perennial Wisdom, World Wisdom, 44, 978-1-93659700-0]
Spiritual life, Trials

Frithjof Schuon photo
Benjamin Creme photo
Constance Wu photo

“Listening to an underserved population is how you begin to understand them and serve them better.”

Constance Wu (1982) American actress

As quoted in "'Fresh Off The Boat' Star Constance Wu On Why She's With Hillary Clinton" in Elite Daily (2 November 2016) https://www.elitedaily.com/news/politics/constance-wu-hillary-clinton/1678281

Walter Mondale photo

“If you are sure you understand everything that is going on, you are hopelessly confused.”

Walter Mondale (1928–2021) 42nd Vice President of the United States

As quoted by Ann Landers, in The Poughkeepsie Journal (26 March 1978); cited as "Mondale's Law" in The Book of Laws (1979) by Harold Faber, p. 13

“I have never met a single European who had a clean, clear-cut understanding of the principles of strictly limited government.”

Leonard E. Read (1898–1983) American academic

Source: Leonard Read Journals, July 1, 1949 https://history.fee.org/leonard-read-journal/1949/leonard-e-read-journal-july-1949/

Thomas Hobbes photo
Yingluck Shinawatra photo
Baba Hari Dass photo

“Control of the mind can be achieved by understanding yourself, the aim and the energy which is blocking us from progressing. Between God and the Self, the blocking energy is the ego.”

Baba Hari Dass (1923–2018) master yogi, author, builder, commentator of Indian spiritual tradition

Mount Madonna Messenger

Baba Hari Dass photo

“You have everything and you want more. It's natural in human beings. You don't need to give away your house, money, and car, and leave your family to find God. The only thing necessary is to understand attachment.”

Baba Hari Dass (1923–2018) master yogi, author, builder, commentator of Indian spiritual tradition

Source: Everyday Peace: Letters for Life (2000), p.17

Vajiralongkorn photo

“Knowledge, understanding and cooperation will lead the country to happiness, security and progress.”

Vajiralongkorn (1952) King of Thailand

Source: "His Majesty presents televised end of year message" in Thaiger https://thethaiger.com/news/national/his-majesty-presents-televised-end-of-year-message (1 January 2021)

Bhumibol Adulyadej photo

“I do some things that are within my rights and then they see that it is something that is all right. So they begin to understand that I am doing things not for my own enrichment or my own interest. It is for the whole country.”

Bhumibol Adulyadej (1927–2016) King of Thailand

Source: "King Bhumibol's Reign" in The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/21/magazine/king-bhumibol-s-reign.html (21 May 1989)

Baba Hari Dass photo

“Can intellect aid understanding? It helps in the beginning but cannot give full enlightenment. The mind is the main instrument to gain enlightenment, but enlightenment is only reached when the mind stops.”

Baba Hari Dass (1923–2018) master yogi, author, builder, commentator of Indian spiritual tradition

Source: Silence Speaks, from the chalkboard of Baba Hari Dass (1977)

Jiang Qing photo

“I feel very sorry that for a very long time I have not had hearings of opinions of comrades. I can well understand it if comrades should have some opinion against us; for comrades know about our conditions.”

Jiang Qing (1914–1991) Chinese political figure and wife of Mao Zedong

Source: Talk at the Peking Forum on Literature and Art (9 and 12 November 1967)

Michael Moorcock photo

“Some try to understand the world, while others seek to impose their understanding on it.”

Source: The Mirror; or, Harlequin Everywhere (pp. 790-791)
Source: The Cornelius Quartet, The Condition of Muzak (1977)
Context: Unfortunately, Mr. Smiles, these latter folk are those least equipped to perform the operation. Like Frankenstein, my dear Mr. Smiles, they produce a monster.

Maureen Corrigan photo