Malice and Stupidity

“Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity, but don’t rule out malice.”  I’ve heard this aphorism called “Heinlein’s Razor,” but Wikipedia calls it Hanlon’s razor.

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Categorized as Quotations

Our stories: morality vs stuff happens (Paul Krugman quotation)

“Everyone loves a morality play. ‘For the wages of sin is death’ is a much more satisfying message than ‘Shit happens.’ We all want events to have meaning.” — Paul Krugman, “How the Case for Austerity had Crumbled,” New York Review of Books, June 5, 2013 Krugman is often my source for interesting one-liners or… Continue reading Our stories: morality vs stuff happens (Paul Krugman quotation)

On Reviewing Books (quotations)

Gratuitous quotes, that is. These are just some quotations that I wanted to share on book reviewing: I was going to suggest some hard-won guidelines for responsible reviewing. For instance: First, as in Hippocrates, do no harm. Second, never stoop to score a point or bite an ankle. Third, always understand that in this symbiosis,… Continue reading On Reviewing Books (quotations)

Incestuous Amplification (Paul Krugman)

Terminologist and Economist: Paul Krugman at the 2010 Brooklyn Book Festival. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) “Incestuous Amplification.” What a wonderful phrase, which Paul Krugman describes as “a term for how highly dubious ideas become not just accepted, but viewed as certainties. “Incestuous amplification” happen when a closed group of people repeat the same things to each… Continue reading Incestuous Amplification (Paul Krugman)