Quote of the day — H.L. Mencken

I believe that it is better to tell the truth than a lie. I believe it is better to be free than to be a slave. And I believe it is better to know than to be ignorant. — H.L. Mencken

Quote of the day: George Washington

Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light.

— George Washington

Quote of the day: Thomas Jefferson

He who knows nothing is closer to the truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.

— Thomas Jefferson

What did Henry Ford mean by “History Is Bunk?”

Last week I listened to Milt Rosenberg‘s interview with Gary Saul Morson about the value of what they called “Encapsulated Wisdom”: the “aphorisms, maxims and wise saws [that] are the stuff of conversation and argument.” What grabbed my attention was the discussion of two contrasting views of history: Henry Ford vs. George Santayana. Rosenberg suggested that if:

Santayana ( “those who forget history are condemned to repeat it”) is true or false then Henry Ford (“history is bunk”) is correspondingly false or true.

As as history guy, I’m with Santayana. However, Morson’s take was unique, at least to my ears: he maintained that both had truth in them. He pointed out that Ford would look at history with the perspective of an engineer or a “hard” scientist. He would discount the so-called wisdom of the past given its uselessness during an age of scientific progress. A quick dive into Ford’s many other proclamations regarding history and science bear that out (though he wasn’t even too clear on the history of his own field).

One irony: Ford’s attitude that the world could be made new was shared by his bitterest enemies, the socialists and progressive reformers. Even today, the Industrial Workers of the World believe that:

[W]e are forming the structure of the new society within the shell of the old.

Quote of the Day: Umberto Eco

Would it, too, go according to plan, or would it go according to The Plan, which now was no longer mine?

— Umberto Eco, Foucault’s Pendulum

Quote of the Day: Neil Gaiman

Even Nothing cannot last forever. — Neil Gaiman, American Gods

Quote of the Day — Max DePree

Be wary of setting out to win prizes. Truly creative people flourish in the process of solving problems. Good work is the goal; recognition is the consequence.

— Max DePree, Leadership Jazz 

PM Quote of the Day — Winston Churchill

It’s not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what’s required. 

PM Quote of the Day — Yoda

Do or do not… there is no try.

PM Quote of the Day — Nolan Bushnell

Everyone who’s ever taken a shower has an idea. It’s the person who gets out of the shower, dries off and does something about it who makes a difference.