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A piece of music is an experience to be taken by itself.

B. F. Skinner

Science is a willingness to accept facts even when they are opposed to wishes.
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Acceptance Science Willing
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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Men Question Reality Technology Thinking
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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Action Inspirational Journey Start
It is a mistake to suppose that the whole issue is how to free man. The issue is to improve the way in which he is controlled.
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Control Freedom Improvement Issues Men Mistake
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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Acceptance Education Honesty Intellectual Value
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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Important Talk
Death does not trouble me. I have no fear of supernatural punishments, of course, nor could I enjoy an eternal life in which there would be nothing left for me to do, the task of living having been accomplished.
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Accomplishment Education Fear Live Punishment Trouble
The major difference between rats and people is that rats learn from experience.
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Animal Difference Learning People
The only geniuses produced by the chaos of society are those who do something about it. Chaos breeds geniuses. It offers a man something to be a genius about.
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Born Breed Education Genius Men Production
The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do.
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Problem Reality Science Technology
Behavior is determined by its consequences.
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Attitude Determination
The mob rushes in where individuals fear to tread.
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Army Battle Fear People
That’s all teaching is; arranging contingencies which bring changes in behavior.
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Behavior Change Teaching Transformation
Twenty-five hundred years ago it might have been said that man understood himself as well as any other part of the world. Today he is the thing he understands least.
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Himself Man Nature Past Understand World
In a world of complete economic equality, you get and keep the affections you deserve. You can’t buy love with gifts or favors, you can’t hold love by raising an inadequate child, and you can’t be secure in love by serving as a good scrub woman or a good provider.
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Children Deserve Economic Gift Goodness Love Quality Serve Woman World
I’ve often said that my rats have taught me much more than I’ve taught them.
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Animal Learning Myself Teaching
Do not intervene between a person and the consequences of their own behavior.
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Attitude Judgement Person
The way positive reinforcement is carried out is more important than the amount.
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Carry Important Positive Reality Way
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.
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Comfortable Dedication Development Production Science Technology
A scientist may not be sure of the answer, but he’s often sure he can find one. And that’s a condition which is clearly not enjoyed by philosophy.
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Enjoyment Philosophy Science
When we say that a man controls himself, we must specify who is controlling whom.
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Control Himself Men
A permissive government is a government that leaves control to other sources.
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Control Government Leaving Source
Chaos breeds geniuses. It offers a man something to be a genius about.
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Deep Destruction Genius Mad Men
To say that behaviors have different ‘meanings’ is only another way of saying that they are controlled by different variables.
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Control Deep Different Way
Somehow people get the idea I think we should be given gumdrops whenever we do anything of value.
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Ideas Myself People Thinking Value
Old age is rather like another country. You will enjoy it more if you have prepared yourself before you go.
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Age Country Enjoy
Give me a child and I’ll shape him into anything.
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Children Education Himself Myself

A piece of music is an experience to be taken by itself.

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A piece of music is an experience to be taken by itself.

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