“Of all questions, why? is the least pertinent. It begs the question; it assumes the larger part of its own response; to wit, that a sensible response exists.”

Michael Halliday (1987) cited in: Margaret Laing, Keith Williamson (1994) Speaking in Our Tongues. p. 99.
1970s and later

Source: The Mind Of The Strategist, 1982, p. 57

"The Banality of Heroism" in The Greater Good (Fall/Winter 2006/2007), co-written with Zeno Franco
Context: The idea of the banality of heroism debunks the myth of the “heroic elect,” a myth that reinforces two basic human tendencies. The first is to ascribe very rare personal characteristics to people who do something special — to see them as superhuman, practically beyond comparison to the rest of us. The second is the trap of inaction — sometimes known as the "bystander effect." Research has shown that the bystander effect is often motivated by diffusion of responsibility, when different people witnessing an emergency all assume someone else will help. Like the “good guards,” we fall into the trap of inaction when we assume it’s someone else’s responsibility to act the hero.

Quoted in What’s On in London (15 August 2001).

"The Practical Wisdom of Ikujiro Nonaka," 2008

"Rules vs Men: Lessons from a Century of Monetary Policy", Originally published in Christoph Buchheim, Michael Hutter, and Harold James, eds., Zerrissene Zwischenkriegszeit Beiträge (1994), republished in Comparative Political Economy: A Retrospective (2003)

Source: Small Favor

To Dr. G. M. Gilbert, after receiving the death sentence and getting annoyed more at the method of execution, hanging. Quoted in "Nuremberg Diary" by G. M. Gilbert - History - 1995.

Stage banter