“Nowadays, everybody fancies himself an expert in government and wants to have a say.”

—  B.F. Skinner , Walden Two

Source: Walden Two

Last update July 30, 2025. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Nowadays, everybody fancies himself an expert in government and wants to have a say." by B.F. Skinner?
B.F. Skinner photo
B.F. Skinner 30
American behaviorist 1904–1990

Related quotes

Peter Cook photo

“I've always wanted to be an expert on tadpoles. I've always fancied being a tadpole expert. It's a wonderful life if you become an experty tadpoleous, as they are known in the trade. You get invited to all the smart parties and social gatherings.”

Peter Cook (1937–1995) British architect

"The Tadpole Expert" (1964)
E. L. Wisty

Stephen Colbert photo

“In the media age, everybody was famous for 15 minutes. In the Wikipedia age, everybody can be an expert in five minutes.”

Stephen Colbert (1964) American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor

Wired Magazine article http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.08/colbert.html (14 August 2006)
Context: Get your own entry in an encyclopedia... In the media age, everybody was famous for 15 minutes. In the Wikipedia age, everybody can be an expert in five minutes. Special bonus: You can edit your own entry to make yourself seem even smarter.

David Ben-Gurion photo

“If an expert says it can't be done, get another expert.”

David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) Israeli politician, Zionist leader, prime minister of Israel

As quoted in Words from the Wise : Over 6,000 of the Smartest Things Ever Said (2007) by Rosemarie Jarski, p. 170

Charles Manson photo

“You know, a long time ago being crazy meant something. Nowadays everybody's crazy.”

Charles Manson (1934–2017) American criminal and musician

Interview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C6K0umwZwo by Diane Sawyer (1994)

Anthony Burgess photo

“We're a government that believes in everybody having the illusion of free will.”

Anthony Burgess book The Wanting Seed

Source: The Wanting Seed

Lung Ying-tai photo

“Working in the government nowadays, you can only get things done if you have the determination to go against the prevailing trend.”

Lung Ying-tai (1952) Taiwanese politician

Lung Ying-tai (2014) cited in " The smiles and sighs of Taiwan's first culture minister http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aftr/201412060016.aspx" on Focus Taiwan, 6 December 2014

Arthur F. Burns photo

“THE AMERICAN people have of late been more conscious of the business cycle, more sensitive to every wrinkle of economic curves, more alert to the possible need for contra-cyclical action on the part of government, than ever before in our history. Minor changes of employment or of productivity or of the price level, which in an earlier generation would have gone unnoticed, are nowadays followed closely by laymen as well as experts.”

Arthur F. Burns (1904–1987) American economist and diplomat

Source: "Progress Towards Economic Stability", 1969, p. 101

“You write a story about loneliness, and you grab them all because everybody's an expert on that one. ”

Theodore Sturgeon (1918–1985) American speculative fiction writer
Nigel Farage photo

“I have to say that everybody from David Cameron to half this panel say, "Wouldn't it be terrible if we were like Norway and Switzerland?" Really? They're rich. They're happy. They're self governing.”

Nigel Farage (1964) British politician and former commodity broker

Speaking on BBC Question Time in Lincoln https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTDByiSRerk, 17 January 2013.
2013

Related topics