Quotes About Interpretation

The interpretation and use of words involves a process of free creation.

The long tradition of naiveté and self-righteousness that disfigures our intellectual history, however, must serve as a warning to the third world, if such a warning is needed, as to how our protestations of sincerity and benign intent are to be interpreted.

The sign of a truly totalitarian culture is that important truths simply lack cognitive meaning and are interpretable only at the level of 'Fuck You', so they can then elicit a perfectly predictable torrent of abuse in response. We've long ago reached that level.

if people want to be confused, they will always succeed, no matter what term you use.

It takes a phrase to produce a lie and ten minutes to decode it.

Presumption of innocence has also been given a new and useful interpretation. As the New York Times later reported, "Mr. Obama embraced a disputed method for counting civilian casualties that did little to box him in. It in effect counts all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants, according to several administration officials, unless there is explicit intelligence posthumously proving them innocent.

No podemos evitar abordar cuestiones complejas y controvertidas —especialmente cuando son significativas desde el punto de vista humano— con un punto de vista definido, con intereses personales, si se quiere, y estos intereses tienen que ser evidentes, de manera que aquellos a los que nos dirigimos puedan entender de dónde venimos en nuestras opciones e interpretaciones de los hechos de la historia.

What I hear as noise is perceived as music by my teenage grandchildren, at a fairly primitive level of perceptual experience. And

In the West yes is yes and no is no. But when Arabs hear the word no from an American they often take it as an insult. That is because Arabs don't say the word no directly. Very often they say in Shaalah when they mean no. In dealing with Westerners, an Arab may say yes' when they really don't mean it, and that gets them in a lot of trouble with Westerners.

When you slip on a banana peel, people laugh at you. But when you tell people you slipped on a banana peel, it's your laugh.

When I first met him, he had a recurrent nightmare that Henry Kissinger was chasing him with a knife, and I said it was really his father, and he said it was really Henry Kissinger, and I said it was his father and he said it was Henry Kissinger, and this went on for months until he started going to the Central American shrinkette, who said Henry Kissinger was really his younger sister.

I am led to the proposition that there is no fiction or nonfiction as we commonly understand the distinction; there is only narrative." From

What is technology? Cian pulled his brother inside, pushed the button for the next floor. It's another god.

What the hell are you doing?" "What the hell does it look like I'm doing?" "It looks like you're putting pants on that dog." "Then that's what the hell I'm doing.

People put too much emphasis, too many demands, on courage, and they all put their own standards on it anyway

When a woman brings something up, then doesn't have much to say about it, she's got a lot to say about it.

What if it's an art film with subtitles?" "Then I'll suffer in silence.

Your gaydar can't leap over buildings in a single bound like Superman. He's wearing a thong. Enough said. It's for ease of movement. Thong, Lila repeated.

Tu as vraiment fait regarder Clueless à ta classe de littérature anglaise pour illustrer l'actualité d'Emma de Jane Austen?

When a woman brings something up, then doesn't have much to say about it, she's got a lot to say about it." "Then

we have BBML. You didn't say anything about BBML." "Possibly because I don't know what

Se as pessoas não gostaseem de olhar para coisas atraentes, a arte não existiria.

painting, in music, in literature or theater? If so, did that make the rest of the world nothing more than the audience? Passive observers whose only contribution was applause or criticism?

Damn skippy." "Who is Skippy? Why are you mad at him?" "It's an expression. Like bet your ass." "People