It is not a question of starting. The start has been made. It’s a question of what’s to be done from now on.
B. F. SKINNERThe real question is not whether machines think but whether men do. The mystery which surrounds a thinking machine already surrounds a thinking man.
More B. F. Skinner Quotes
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The real question is not whether machines think but whether men do. The mystery which surrounds a thinking machine already surrounds a thinking man.
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A person’s genetic endowment, a product of the evolution of the species, is said to explain part of the workings of his mind and his personal history the rest.
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A first principle not formally recognized by scientific methodologists: when you run into something interesting, drop everything else and study it.
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We have seen that in certain respects operant reinforcement resembles the natural selection of evolutionary theory. Just as genetic characteristics which arise as mutations are selected or discarded by their consequences, so novel forms of behavior are selected or discarded through reinforcement.
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Men build society and society builds men.
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It is not a question of starting. The start has been made. It’s a question of what’s to be done from now on.
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The way positive reinforcement is carried out is more important than the amount.
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…not everyone is willing to defend a position of ‘not knowing.’ There is no virtue in ignorance for its own sake.
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To say that behaviors have different ‘meanings’ is only another way of saying that they are controlled by different variables.
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It is a surprising fact that those who object most violently to the manipulation of behaviour nevertheless make the most vigorous effort to manipulate minds.
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Somehow people get the idea I think we should be given gumdrops whenever we do anything of value.
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A piece of music is an experience to be taken by itself.
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Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.
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Those who have had anything useful to say have said it far too often, and those who have had nothing to say have been no more reticent.
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A vast technology has been developed to prevent, reduce, or terminate exhausting labor and physical damage. It is now dedicated to the production of the most trivial conveniences and comfort.
B. F. SKINNER