“Next time somebody tells you something that sounds important, think to yourself: 'Is this the kind of thing that people probably know because of evidence? Or is it the kind of thing that people only believe because of tradition, authority or revelation?' And, next time somebody tells you that something is true, why not say to them: 'What kind of evidence is there for that?' And if they can't give you a good answer, I hope you'll think very carefully before you believe a word they say.”

— Richard Dawkins, book A Devil's Chaplain

"Good and Bad Reasons for Believing" [open letter to his daughter]
A Devil's Chaplain (2003)

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Richard Dawkins322

English ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author 1941

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“Next time somebody tells you something that sounds important, think to yourself: 'Is this the kind of thing that people probably know because of evidence? Or is it the kind of thing that people only believe because of tradition, authority or revelation?' And, next time somebody tells you that something is true, why not say to them: 'What kind of evidence is there for that?”

Richard Dawkins book A Devil's Chaplain

And if they can't give you a good answer, I hope you'll think very carefully before you believe a word they say.
"Good and Bad Reasons for Believing" [open letter to his daughter]
A Devil's Chaplain (2003)

“I think that I say those things that make people so angry, not because I really mean them, but because I simply thought of a clever way to say them. It's a kind of art, to think of the perfect way to say an idea, and when you think of it then you have to say it, because words don't exist until you say them."
"A pretty feeble kind of art, Nyef, and I say you should give it up before it gets you killed.”

Orson Scott Card (1951) American science fiction novelist

Homecoming saga, The Memory Of Earth (1992)

“Your calling isn’t something that somebody can tell you about. It’s what you feel. It is the thing that gives you juice. The thing that you are supposed to do. And nobody can tell you what that is. You know it inside yourself.”

Oprah Winfrey (1954) American businesswoman, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist

“I don't think you tell someone you love them because you expect something. I think you tell them because you have something to give.”

Nora Roberts book Bed of Roses

Source: Bed of Roses

“Read – and be curious. And if somebody says to you: 'Things are this way. You can't change it' - don't believe a word.”

Cornelia Funke (1958) author

“I am waiting to tell all the things I know, provide all the evidence to the U.S. Government, and I want them to understand, and I also want the U.S. people to understand how terrible this is. It is not what you have seen ... This is something very different. We have to chase the true evidence and get the real evidence because this is a key part to stop this pandemic. We don't have much time.”

Li-Meng Yan Chinese ophthalmologist and virologist

Hong Kong virologist claiming coronavirus cover-up tells 'Bill Hemmer Reports': 'We don't have much time' https://www.foxnews.com/media/li-meng-yan-virologist-china-coronavirus-coverup (July 13, 2020)

“Belief?"
"Yes," Sazed said. "Tell me, Mistress. What is it that you believe?"
Vin frowned. "What kind of question is that?"
"The most important kind, I think.”

Brandon Sanderson (1975) American fantasy writer

Source: The Final Empire

“Not many people are interested in what somebody else is thinking, or what they have to say. The best you can hope for is they'll listen to you just so you'll have to listen to them.”

William Wharton book Birdy

Source: Birdy

“When people keep telling you that you can't do a thing, you kind of like to try it.”

Margaret Fuller (1810–1850) American feminist, poet, author, and activist

Margaret Chase Smith, quoted in More Than Petticoats : Remarkable Maine Women (2005) by Kate Kennedy
Misattributed

“When people keep telling you that you can't do a thing, you kind of like to try it.”

Margaret Chase Smith (1897–1995) Member of the United States Senate from Maine

As quoted in "Nation: Madam Candidate" in TIME magazine (7 February 1964) http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,870656-2,00.html <br class="br">Misattributed <br class="br">Context: I am running against no one. I'd like to be President. I think my experience and my record are greater than any other candidate or any other of the unannounced candidates. It's a real challenge, and that's one of the paramount things. When people keep telling you that you can't do a thing, you kind of like to try it.

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