Louis

“Unlike earlier thinkers, who had sought to improve their accuracy by getting rid of error, Laplace realized that you should try to get more error: aggregate enough flawed data, and you get a glimpse of the truth. “The genius of statistics, as Laplace defined it, was that it did not ignore errors; it quantified them,” the writer Louis Menand observed. “…The right answer is, in a sense, a function of the mistakes.”
― Kathryn Schulz, Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error

“One day, you will say it to me again. You will be sober. And you will mean it.”
I was actually terrified that I already meant it. A guy might just be a keeper who hears your cry for help in his head. And comes into a den of thieves to get you out. And then holds your hair while you throw up for ten minutes.”
― Karen Chance, In Vino Veritas

“Listen, Mollie, I need to get home and let my parents know I’m alive. Then I am coming back for you. If my home is still standing, I’ll provide a place for you and Frank as long as you need.” “Why would you do that?” She looked a little taken aback, which surprised him. Because he loved her. Because they had just experienced the worst two days imaginable, and the bond that had been forged between them was not something to be tossed away. If Louis Hartman didn’t like it, he would quit. The fire had just taught Zack what was most important in this world, and she was looking straight at him.”
― Elizabeth Camden, Into the Whirlwind

“I too am relieved. I did not know if Kate would like me.”
“Well, sure she would! You’re her own kind, right?”
“I am her kind?”
Richard suddenly looked less sure of himself, but he said, “I mean you’re in that same milieu or whatever. That science milieu she was raised in. Right, Uncle Louis?” he asked. “No normal person could understand you people.”
“What exactly do you find difficult to understand?” Dr. Battista asked him.
“Oh, you know, all that science jargon; I can’t offhand—”
“I am researching autoimmune disorders,” Dr. Battista said. “It’s true that ‘autoimmune’ has four syllables, but perhaps if I broke the word down for you…”
― Anne Tyler, Vinegar Girl