Search inspirational quotes
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“Machines take me by surprise with great frequency.”
Meaning: In his famous paper on machine intelligence, Turing admitted that programs he wrote often did things he had not predicted, challenging the idea that machines only do what they are told. Treat unexpected results from your tools as information, and investigate them with curiosity. -
“With every accident, ask yourself what abilities you have for making a proper use of it.”
Meaning: Epictetus advises treating each surprise as a chance to use a virtue: self-restraint against temptation, fortitude in pain, patience with rudeness. The next time something annoying happens, name the quality it asks of you and practice it on purpose. -
“None of us know all the potentialities that slumber in the spirit of the population, or all the ways in which that population can surprise us when there is the right interplay of events.”
Meaning: People can rise to moments of change in ways nobody predicted. Don't underestimate the hidden courage in ordinary communities. -
“Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.”
Meaning: Integrity often surprises others but always matters. -
“Poetry should surprise by a fine excess.”
Meaning: This reflects creativity in art. -
“If you love yourself, you will be surprised: others will love you.”
Meaning: Self-love attracts positive relationships.