Nature never appeals to intelligence until habit and instinct are useless. There is no intelligence where there is no need of change.
H. G. WellsRead
All men, however highly educated, retain some superstitious inklings.
Interpretation
Education does not eliminate superstitions; they persist in human thought.
This quote by H. G. Wells highlights the idea that despite advancements in education and knowledge, humans still hold onto certain superstitions and irrational beliefs. It suggests that these inclinations are a fundamental part of human nature, reflecting our psychological complexity and the limitations of rational thought.
In practice
In a lecture on the intersection of science and belief, one could use this quote to emphasize the persistence of irrational thoughts.
Nature never appeals to intelligence until habit and instinct are useless. There is no intelligence where there is no need of change.
He spares no resource in telling of his dead inventions... Bare verbs he rarely tolerates. He splits infinitives and fills them up with adverbial stuffing. He presses the passing colloquialism into his service. His vast paragraphis sweat and struggle; the
It [a new world order] needs only that the governments of Britain, the United States, France, Germany, and Russia should get together in order to set up an effective control of currency, credit, production, and distribution – that is to say, an effective ‘dictatorship of prosperity,’ for the whole world. The other sixty odd States would have to join in or accommodate themselves to the over-ruling decisions of these major Powers.
Things that would have made fame of a less clever man seemed tricks in his hands. It is a mistake to do things too easily.
But I was too restless to watch long; I'm too Occidental for a long vigil. I could work at a problem for years, but to wait inactive for twenty-four hours - that's another matter.
The greatest task of democracy, its ritual and feast - is choice.
Rise above the deceptions and temptations of the mind. This is your duty. You are born for this only; all other duties are self-created and self-imposed owing to ignorance.
The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives.
You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from something that happens to you: You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for growth are the openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them.
There is only one you. God wanted you to be you. Don't you dare change just because you're outnumbered!
I focus on spiritual wealth now, and I'm busier, more enthusiastic, and more joyful than I have ever been.
I'm attracted to subjects who overcome tremendous suffering and learn to cope emotionally with it
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