We have an enormous fixation on, what seems to me to be, the nave idea that truth resides in what somebody wrote sometime in the past. If it's not written down, it isn't true. And that's absurd. But it's the way historians are trained you have to have a source, and if you don't have something you can cite from an original source, in the original language, then you're not a really good historian, you're are not scientific, you're not true .
More Quotes from William McNeill:
My job is to bore you and let the hardness of your seat and the warmth of your robe prepare you for what is to come.William McNeill
We have to do the best we can with the language and concepts we inherit and not worry about obtaining a truth that will satisfy everyone, everywhere, and for all time
William McNeill
The rise of Islam offers perhaps the most impressive example in world history of the power of words to alter human behavior in sudden, surprising ways.
William McNeill
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Based on Topics: Language Quotes, Past Quotes, Science QuotesBased on Keywords: fixation, nave
The Hollywood structure was monopolistic, run by four or five big studios.
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Yeah, what happened was Universal wanted one of the characters to be nice so they chose me so there was a scene where the girl was tied to the bed and I let her go.
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I've learned one thing about life. We're a good deal like that ball, dancing on the fountain. We know as little about the forces that move us, and move the world around us, as that empty ball does.
Ardel Wray