Quotes About Observation

The thing about Walmart was that even a man like Dwayne Brewer could go unnoticed. People pushed their buggies with dead-eyed stares, everything sliding by in the periphery. Consumerism scaled this large had a way of camouflaging class.

between 321 and 300 B.C., recommended that ambassadors use cryptanalysis to obtain intelligence: "If there is no possibility of carrying on any such conversation (conversation with the people regarding their loyalty), he [the envoy] may try to gather such information by observing the talk of beggars, intoxicated and insane persons, or of persons babbling in sleep, or by observing the signs made in places of pilgrimage and temples, or by deciphering paintings or secret writings.

We see trees - they see only posts and beams.

and that dumbass deer—sorry, that beautiful creature of God—that thing's character was drawn within the limitations of a non-sentient brain. It stood there, unmoving, as the car closed the last fifty feet on it; it just hunched there, watching Death come hurtling at it, staring at the car like, well, like exactly what it was, there's a goddamn good reason for that cliché, so maybe it was fitting that the first thing that hit the deer was the headlight.

A driver who has no interest in motorcycles, and isn't expecting to see one, may not comprehend a motorcycle regardless of how conspicuous it is.

12 seconds represents about as far ahead as you can see details. If you're not in the habit of looking that far ahead, then you should be working on that important technique.

Two ways to increase your anticipation time are looking farther ahead and reducing speed in busy situations.

Rider training instructors often suggest that a rider should be looking twelve seconds ahead, or the distance he or she will be covering over the next twelve seconds. That doesn't mean you should be focused only on what's happening at a point twelve seconds ahead. Instead, you should focus on everything that's going on within that twelve-second zone.

desert kept a still tongue, and when

Life often looks its best from a distance.

Life often looks its best from a distance. He was yet to understand that.

Hilda observed that science always loses its way when guided by ideology or wishful thinking.

El que vigila al pueblo acaba siendo vigilado por el pueblo. Hay una fundamental lógica democrática en ello»

I quickly discovered three distinct traits about my tablemates: They hit each other a lot. They swore a lot. They belched a lot.

L'invisibilità è la qualità fondamentale di un voltapagine: in scena, egli deve cercare di cancellare il più possibile la sua presenza, dando l'impressione che le pagine si voltino da sole. Il voltapagine ha il raro privilegio di sentire un pianista quasi come sente se stesso: sentire il suo canto sommesso, i gemiti che di quando in quando gli sfuggono tra i denti, lo schiocco sordo delle unghie contro i tasti. E non solo sentirlo, ma vederlo; studiarlo.

If you believe in coincidence, then you aren't paying attention.

Despite breaking into my room, Steve seemed like a pretty decent lizard guy.

Mark a hen's comb with an oddly colored spot, or tie it so it hangs in a peculiar direction, and her former flock mates will attack her mercilessly. Jane Goodall, who was the first scientist to observe chimpanzees up close and personal in the wild, noticed that crippled chimpanzees were rejected and attacked by apes that were previously on friendly terms with them.

Abraham Wald pointed out how even the best minds of the US military can be fooled by the winners. His analysis showed that a careful study of survivors can tell us a lot about the non-survivors, who are sometimes difficult or impossible to observe. Most importantly, he demonstrated that we should pay close attention to both survivors and non-survivors before drawing conclusions.

The artist, like the God of the creation, remains within or behind or beyond or above his handiwork, invisible, refined out of existence, indifferent, paring his fingernails.

If God is watching your every move, you should probably straighten up your act a little bit.

The coming of the kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, 'Look, here it is,' or, 'There it is.' For behold, the kingdom of God is among you.

The eye of God! Think of that. Everywhere, in every house, in every field, in every room, in every company, alone or in a crowd, the eye of God is always upon you.

I go to dance clubs...about once a year just to justify the other 364 days I spend in my apartment going 'God, what idiots!'