Quotes About Perspective

There are always alternative interpretations of the same data. It is often the case, however, that the alternatives that are rejected are treated as if they don't exist. But they do. And we should be aware not only of their existence and potential viability, but of the possibility that the hypotheses that we might embrace so strongly today may very well be the rejects of tomorrow.

Commenting on the crew's Christmas Eve reading from Genesis, he looked down at the justices of the Supreme Court—a court barely seven years removed from having ruled prayer in the classroom unconstitutional—and said, "But now that I see the gentlemen in the front row, I'm not sure we should have read from the Bible at all.

If it feels like it might be OCD, it is OCD! If it were reality, it wouldn't feel like it even might be OCD.

I am reminded that while New Yorkers say standing on line, the rest of the English-speaking world says standing in line.

Bad bread wrecks my outlook on life.

Maybe I've moved to the dark side, but it's clean and nice and we never run out of toilet paper.

I feel like my takeaway from tonight is that it's okay to love shitty television, provided that you make an effort to appreciate other kinds of entertainment.

Presently, Mary Mac—that's what we call her for short—has churned out more kids than I can count. It's like she's a hoarder, only for children. In terms of personal achievement, she's pretty much the patron saint of minivans and stretch marks. What is that meme I've seen about the prolific 19 Kids and Counting mother? Ah, yes, "It's a vagina, not a clown car." Add one persecution complex, stir, and, boom! Meet my older sister.

Couple this discovery with the realization that my things shouldn't own me and that life's meant to be lived, not displayed on Pinterest, and my sense is I've finally achieved something close to balance. I feel excellent about actually having

Or how about when a person publishes something along the lines of, "This has been the worst day EVAH," but then gets all closed-lipped about why it's been so bad. This is attention-seeking at its worst.

While I'm happy for everyone who wants a family, I look at the notion of having kids the same way I look at people who get tattoos on their faces, like, "Hoo-boy, that's permanent.

Anyone who grew up in a household where carob passed for chocolate and apple pies were actually filled with zucchini will feel me here.

Shout long enough in capital letters and, eventually, people start to tune you out.

I decided to bypass parenthood. In the 1970s, only one in ten women was childfree; today the number is one in five.169 Yet when I mention my choice, I've had moms look at me like I'm defective, or a unicorn, or a defective unicorn. Keep your pity; I don't need it. I knew early on that children weren't in my plans.

Were we happier when we had only three channels? We all have the opportunity to consume solely the shows and news broadcasts that align with our views. Everything is so specialized now that we're given the ability to actively shield ourselves from anything that might challenge our set thoughts. What if we're less likely to consider opposing viewpoints because we can simply choose to isolate ourselves from them?

like it. And, hey, why do I have so much sand in my crotch?" Okay

I want to reframe the midlife crisis, making it into the midlife opportunity.

yesterday in the airport I spent ten minutes expounding on the virtues of Bethenny Frankel from the New York season of the Real Housewives until I realized the person next to me had been talking about a book by Viktor Frankl.

Of everything parents must worry about today, should "keeping their children's looks fresh" be at the top of the list? How about this—maybe get them vaccinated for measles before fretting about the sell-by date of their ensembles. Why don't we operate on the premise that at age six, kids don't need to establish a personal brand?

In my mother's mind, all I'd achieved was due to her, and not my own efforts.

What other people think about you has nothing to do with you and everything to do with them.

It's impossible to satisfy everyone, and I suggest we all stop trying.

What I'm asserting is that we are looking at bisexuality the wrong way, making the identity entirely dependent on someone other that the bisexual person him- or herself. If I'm dating a man, I'm straight. If I'm dating a woman, I'm a lesbian. But sexuality is not who you sleep with, it's who you are. It doesn't change according to who is standing next to you.

As it turned out, my perception was so much more intimidating than the reality.