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in the ninth century BCE, a census turned up around sixty-five thousand gods.

— Alpha God by Hector A. Garcia

Things changed, and they didn’t change back. But sometimes they got better.

— Nemesis Games by James S. A. Corey

‘Be angry at the sun for setting if these things anger you.’

— Nemesis Games by James S. A. Corey

You can tell you’ve found a really interesting question when nobody wants you to answer it.

— Nemesis Games by James S. A. Corey

“Hey, can I ask an inappropriate question?” “If memory serves.”

— Nemesis Games by James S. A. Corey

You don’t have to call someone a child. Just model being an adult and let the contrast stand.

— Skeptics' Guide to the Universe by Steven Novella, Bob Novella, Cara Santa Maria, and 2 others

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less. —Marie Curie

— Skeptics' Guide to the Universe by Steven Novella, Bob Novella, Cara Santa Maria, and 2 others

One cannot explain one mystery by attributing it to another. —Joe Nickell

— Skeptics' Guide to the Universe by Steven Novella, Bob Novella, Cara Santa Maria, and 2 others

The correspondence between reality and my beliefs comes from reality controlling my beliefs, not the other way around. —Eliezer S. Yudkowsky

— Skeptics' Guide to the Universe by Steven Novella, Bob Novella, Cara Santa Maria, and 2 others

Humans in general are great at coming up with reasons to maintain their desired beliefs in the face of contradictory data. More intelligent and educated people aren’t necessarily better at critical thinking, but they are likely to be more clever and creative in coming up with such excuses—and scientists are no exception.

— Skeptics' Guide to the Universe by Steven Novella, Bob Novella, Cara Santa Maria, and 2 others

if your theory is compatible with every possible observation, then by definition it is not falsifiable, and it is therefore not a scientific theory.

— Skeptics' Guide to the Universe by Steven Novella, Bob Novella, Cara Santa Maria, and 2 others

We should be careful when interpreting the behavior of others. What might appear to be laziness, dishonesty, or stupidity might be better explained by situational factors of which we are ignorant. —Robert Todd Carroll

— Skeptics' Guide to the Universe by Steven Novella, Bob Novella, Cara Santa Maria, and 2 others

The confidence people have in their beliefs is not a measure of the quality of evidence but of the coherence of the story the mind has managed to construct. —Daniel Kahneman

— Skeptics' Guide to the Universe by Steven Novella, Bob Novella, Cara Santa Maria, and 2 others