396 books
—
318 voters
William Mackie
https://www.goodreads.com/eikcammailliw
“Tact is the ability to tell someone to go to hell in such a way that they look forward to the trip.”
―
―
“The most expensive part of building is the mistakes.”
― The Pillars of the Earth
― The Pillars of the Earth
“Hive Queen: They never know anything. They don't have enough years in their little lives to come to an understanding of anything at all. And yet they think they understand. From earliest childhood, they delude themselves into thinking they comprehend the world, while all that's really going on is that they've got some primitive assumptions and prejudices. As they get older they learn a more elevated vocabulary in which to express their mindless pseudo- knowledge and bully other people into accepting their prejudices as if they were truth, but it all amounts to the same thing. Individually, human beings are all dolts.
Pequenino: While collectively...
Hive Queen: Collectively, they're a collection of dolts. But in all their scurrying around and pretending to be wise, throwing out idiotic half-understood theories about this and that, one or two of them will come up with some idea that is just a little bit closer to the truth than what was already known. And in a sort of fumbling trial and error, about half the time the truth actually rises to the top and becomes accepted by people who still don't understand it, who simply adopt it as a new prejudice to be trusted blindly until the next dolt accidentally comes up with an improvement.>
Pequenino: So you're saying that no one is ever individually intelligent, and groups are even stupider than individuals-- and yet by keeping so many fools engaged in pretending to be intelligent, they still come up with some of the same results that an intelligent species would come up with.
Hive Queen: Exactly.”
― Xenocide
Pequenino: While collectively...
Hive Queen: Collectively, they're a collection of dolts. But in all their scurrying around and pretending to be wise, throwing out idiotic half-understood theories about this and that, one or two of them will come up with some idea that is just a little bit closer to the truth than what was already known. And in a sort of fumbling trial and error, about half the time the truth actually rises to the top and becomes accepted by people who still don't understand it, who simply adopt it as a new prejudice to be trusted blindly until the next dolt accidentally comes up with an improvement.>
Pequenino: So you're saying that no one is ever individually intelligent, and groups are even stupider than individuals-- and yet by keeping so many fools engaged in pretending to be intelligent, they still come up with some of the same results that an intelligent species would come up with.
Hive Queen: Exactly.”
― Xenocide
“Life is a constant struggle between being an individual and being a member of the community.”
― The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
― The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
“I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”
― Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
― Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
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Feeling inquisitive? Looking for good conversation? Love science and books? The Science Book Club for the Curious is just the thing for you. This virt ...more
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Hello everyone! This is a group for the coloring book "How to Draw Frozen", for the ones that don't have Facebook. All the new info and releases will ...more
William’s 2025 Year in Books
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