The real question is not whether machines think but whether men do. The mystery which surrounds a thinking machine already surrounds a thinking man.
B. F. SKINNERWhen we say that a man controls himself, we must specify who is controlling whom.
More B. F. Skinner Quotes
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A person who has been punished is not thereby simply less inclined to behave in a given way; at best, he learns how to avoid punishment.
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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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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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Something doing every minute’ may be a gesture of despair-or the height of a battle against boredom.
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It has always been the task of formal education to set up behavior which would prove useful or enjoyable later in a student’s life.
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We shouldn’t teach great books; we should teach a love of reading. Knowing the contents of a few works of literature is a trivial achievement. Being inclined to go on reading is a great achievement.
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When we say that a man controls himself, we must specify who is controlling whom.
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Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.
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We are only just beginning to understand the power of love because we are just beginning to understand the weakness of force and aggression.
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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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What is love except another name for the use of positive reinforcement? Or vice versa.
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Let men be happy, informed, skillful, well behaved, and productive.
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I’ve often said that my rats have taught me much more than I’ve taught them.
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Science, not religion, has taught me my most useful values, among them intellectual honesty. It is better to go without answers than to accept those that merely resolve puzzlement.
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A piece of music is an experience to be taken by itself.
B. F. SKINNER