“We become what we behold. We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us.”
Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980) Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar-- a professor of English literature, a literary critic, and a …
Speech to the House of Commons (October 28, 1943), on plans for the rebuilding of the Chamber (destroyed by an enemy bomb May 10, 1941), in Never Give In! : The best of Winston Churchill’s Speeches (2003), Hyperion, p. 358 ISBN 1401300561
The Second World War (1939–1945)
“We become what we behold. We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us.”
Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980) Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar-- a professor of English literature, a literary critic, and a …
“Our past may shape us, but it doesn't define us.”
Alyson Nöel (1965) writer
Variant: Our past may shape us, but it doesn't define who we become.
Source: Night Star
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American politician, diplomat, and activist, and First Lady of the United States
Foreword (January 1960)
You Learn by Living (1960)
Context: One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes. In stopping to think through the meaning of what I have learned, there is much that I believe intensely, much I am unsure of. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And, the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.
“why do our enemies shape us more than our friends?”
Rafik Schami (1946) German writer
Source: The Dark Side of Love
“We build our computers the way we build our cities--over time, without a plan, on top of ruins.”
Ellen Ullman (1949) American writer
" The dumbing down of programming http://www.salon.com/1998/05/12/feature_321/" Salon Tue-May-12-1998
Epeli Ganilau (1951) Fijian politician
Excerpts from a speech to the Fiji Institute of Accountants, 28 April 2005
“The visions we offer our children shape the future.”
Carl Sagan (1934–1996) American astrophysicist, cosmologist, author and science educator
“There is no such thing as destiny. We ourselves shape our lives.”
Giacomo Casanova (1725–1798) Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice