Speculations

'Countless academic nuclear strategists like nothing better than to write lengthly treatises on whether this or that technological development, way of deploying nuclear weapongs, or doctrine will make nuclear war more or less likely. In practice their speculations have proved almost entirely irrelevant, because they were never put to the test. All the strategists can do is play with words, sometimes supplemented with mathematical equations few people can understand and which may be even less relevant to any kind of reality than words are.'

Creveld, M. van. 2008. The culture of war. New York: Ballantine books, 286

Oppression and injustice

'If in a province you see the poor oppressed, fair judgement and justice violated, do not be surprised, for over every official there watches a higher official, and over these, higher officials still.' Ecclesiastes: 5.7

Gelijkheid?

'Zich in het grondprobleem ‘man en vrouw’ te vergissen, hier het grondeloos diepe antagonisme en de noodzakelijkheid van een eeuwig vijandige spanning te loochenen, hier wellicht van gelijke rechten, gelijke opvoeding, gelijke aanspraken en verplichtingen te dromen, dat is een typisch teken van een bekrompen geest'.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Decision aids

'I am prompted to refer back to history and to the people who opposed the introduction of stethoscopes because they thought that this aid to their diagnostic acumen was not warranted'

M.Tabone-Vassallo (letter), in Adams et al. 1986. 'Computer aided diagnosis of acute abdominal pain: a multicentre study', British Medical Journal, p.1306.

Likelihood ratio

'(...) logs of likelihood ratios had a major influence on the outcome of World War II'

Dowie, J. 1989. Professional Judgement. Open University.

Futile

'The more we say, the more futile it is'

Ecclesiastes: 6,11.

Appetite

'All toil is for the mouth, yet the appetite is never satisfied'