"How many apples fell on Newton's head before he took the hint? Nature is always hinting at us. It hints over and over again. And suddenly we take the hint." -- Robert FrostHints are a good thing, especially if you are patient enough to get th...

"We have found that the most effective persuaders use language in a particular way. They supplement numerical data with examples, stories, metaphors, and analogies to make their positions come alive. That use of language paints a vivid word picture and, i...

"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." -- Frederick DouglasWhether this is true or not is certainly less than obvious. The lack of clarity starts with the meaning of "strong children" and "broken men." The ambiguity...

"Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero." = "Seize the day, put no trust in tomorrow." -- HoraceAlong with "Carpe diem," Horace said, "He has the deed half done who has made a beginning." Indira Gandhi also thought that getting on with getti...

The toothpaste won't go back into the tube.I learned this important fact when I was about 6. I don't remember how I managed to get the toothpaste out of the tube and all over me, the bathroom, and my new shirt. But I sure do remember that ther...

"When one ceases from conflict, whether because he has won, because he has lost, or because he cares no more for the game, the virtue passes out of him." -- Charles Horton CooleyThere are three concepts here that represent an unusual juxtaposi...

"Public virtue is a kind of ghost town into which anyone can move and declare himself sheriff." -- Saul BellowThis is no more true than when the would be sheriffs draw down with their verbal six-shooters on television. For example, "If we are ...

"If you will think about what you ought to do for other people, your character will take care of itself. Character is a by-product, and any man who devotes himself to its cultivation in his own case will become a selfish prig." -- Woodrow Wilson