Anybody who has something sensible or worthwhile to say should be able to say it calmly and soberly, relying on the words themselves to convey his meaning, without resorting to yelling.
Interpretation
Effective communication relies on clarity and composure rather than volume or aggression.
This quote emphasizes the importance of calm and sober communication. Richard Dawkins argues that a person conveying meaningful thoughts should do so through the strength of their words rather than raising their voice. It suggests that true understanding comes from clear expression rather than emotional intensity, highlighting the power of reasoned dialogue over loud discourse.
In practice
In a discussion about effective teamwork, one could quote this to emphasize the importance of calm communication.
No educated person believes the Adam and Eve myth nowadays, but it's surprising how many parents think that it's somehow fun to pass on this falsehood to their children...I would want to argue that the truth of evolution is more interesting and more poetic
If the history-deniers who doubt the fact of evolution are ignorant of biology, those who think the world began less than ten thousand years ago are worst than ignorant, they are the deluded to the point of perversity.
The population of the U.S. is nearly 300 million, including many of the best educated, most talented, most resourceful, humane people on earth. By almost any measure of civilised attainment, from Nobel prize-counts on down, the U.S. leads the world by miles.
When you make machines that are capable of obeying instructions slavishly, and among those instructions are 'duplicate me' instructions, then of course the system is wide open to exploitation by parasites.
Even if not a single fossil has ever been found, the evidence from surviving animals would still overwhelmingly force the conclusion that Darwin was right.
The bitter hatreds that now poison Middle Eastern politics are rooted in the real or perceived wrong of the setting up of a Jewish State in an Islamic region. In view of all that the Jews had been through, it must have seemed a fair and humane solution. Probably deep familiarity with the Old Testament had given the European and American decision-makers some sort of idea that this really was the historic homeland of the Jews.
If you take pride in your attainment or become discouraged because of your idealistic effort, your practice will confine you by a thick wall.
The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger. It is his glory to overlook an offense.
Be a good steward of your gifts. Protect your time. Feed your inner life. Avoid too much noise. Read good books, have good sentences in your ears. Be by yourself as often as you can. Walk. Take the phone off the hook. Work regular hours.
To ascertain the Lord's will, we ought to use scriptural means. Prayer, the word of God, and His Spirit should be united together. We should go to the Lord repeatedly in prayer, and ask Him to teach us by His Spirit through His word.
When you see a good man, try to emulate his example, and when you see a bad man, search yourself for his faults.
Genius is nothing but a greater aptitude for patience.
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