Oscar

“The problem, it is claimed, with grand narratives is that they privilege one perspective over another; the alternative is a relativism which holds that all perspectives are equally valid.”
― David Wootton, The Invention of Science: A New History of the Scientific Revolution

“What makes a good judge? Confidence for one. An expert, in Shanteau's view, is someone good at convincing others he or she is an expert. Good judges may make small errors, but they will "generally avoid large mistakes." When they encounter exceptions, experts are good at making"single-case deviations in their decision patterns." Novices, meanwhile, tend to stick stubbornly to the rules, even when they are inappropriate.”
― Tom Vanderbilt, You May Also Like: Taste in an Age of Endless Choice

“He may gain consciousness and feel like talking. I could leave a nurse here but their damned professional cheeriness depresses introspective men. Talk to him if he feels like it, and if he wants a doctor call me on this.”
― Alasdair Gray, Lanark

“His first criterion, 'descent' , is basic to modern forms of racism. The most notorious twentieth-century variants either, like colour racism in the USA seize on clear biological markers or, like Nazi anti-Semitism, insist on invisible biological differences in the absence of such markers. In the Middle Ages, racism of this kind was relatively insignificant.”
― Robert Bartlett