John Backus Quotes
You need the willingness to fail all the time. You have to generate many ideas and then you have to work very hard only to discover that they don’t work. And you keep doing that over and over until you find one that does work.
Quotes to Explore
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This invisibility, however, means that the opportunities for creative research are infinite.
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As far as 'Windup Girl' becoming a hit - none of us expected that. 'Night Shade' was just hoping not to lose their shirts, and I had grown up hearing from everyone that science fiction didn't sell, so all of our expectations were very low.
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No one could ad lib like Peter. You would think that it was all scripted, he was so poetic, but it wasn't.
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From a very young age, I wanted to get up on stage whenever I went to the theatre - the actors just seemed to be having so much fun. One of my worries about theatre, in fact, is that the actors are quite often having more fun than the audience.
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I challenged things that needed to be challenged at Purdue.
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That's the great thing with the WWE. They want you to be like John Cena, they want you to be like The Rock, and they definitely give you that platform.
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Young people have so many letdowns that people don't realize.
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Famous people feel that they must perpetually be on the crest of the wave, not realising that it is against all the rules of life. You can't be on top all the time, it isn't natural.
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Surely a long life must be somewhat tedious, since we are forced to call in so many trifling things to help rid us of our time, which will never return.
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Economists of a classical bent lay a large part of the decline of employment, and thus lagging output, to a contraction of labour supply.
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I'm more comfortable writing traditional protagonists. But 'Steve Jobs' and 'The Social Network' have antiheroes. I like to write antiheroes as if they're making their case to God about why they should be allowed into heaven. I have to find something in that character that is like me and write to that.
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I have always been a coward as a child. I am not very brave. I am very aware of the fact that I am not very gutsy.
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I came back to do a live concert. Nobody had done that before and I know my managers were worried.
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Good science fiction is always based in contemporary truths.
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The handwriting on the wall may be a forgery.
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Even before I went to the UN, I often would want to say something in a meeting - only woman at the table - and I'd think, 'OK well, I don't think I'll say that. It may sound stupid.' And then some man says it, and everybody thinks it's completely brilliant, and you are so mad at yourself for not saying something.
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My English was limited to vacationing and not really engaging with Americans. I knew 'shopping' and 'eating' English - I could say 'blue sweater,' 'creme brulee,' and 'Caesar salad,' - so I came here thinking I spoke English.
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People tend to treat people with disabilities sort of like they're aliens from another planet. It doesn't come from a bad place; it comes from a place of, 'I have no idea what this disability entails, and I don't want to offend anyone or make them feel awful.'
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I am very thankful for this opportunity. I can't tell you how much of a privilege and a honor it is for me to follow in the footsteps of my father. Everywhere he has gone, there have been two things that have been consistent when he has rebuilt programs. People have always said they have been full of integrity and passion. There's no question that is what I want to carry on.
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Ideas... they have the power.
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The period from 2002 to 2007 was probably our best period. We created a strategy to build global scale, footprints in each of the geographies and dramatically built our international business.
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With Yeltsin, the Soviet Union broke apart, the country was totally mismanaged, the constitution was not respected by the regions of Russia. The army, education and health systems collapsed. People in the West quietly applauded, dancing with and around Yeltsin. I conclude therefore that we should not pay too much attention to what the West is saying.
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You need the willingness to fail all the time. You have to generate many ideas and then you have to work very hard only to discover that they don’t work. And you keep doing that over and over until you find one that does work.
