Ideas quotes

Ideas

16.4K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.

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Ideas quotes (page 61 of 821)

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Ayn Rand Philosopher, Novelist
Ideas

"No advocate of reason can claim the right to force his ideas on others. No advocate of the free mind can claim the right to force the minds of others. No rational society, no co-operation, no agreement, no understanding, no discussion are possible among men who propose to substitute guns for rational persuasion."

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Alice Walker Novelist, Poet
Ideas

"What I am really interested in is that I want people to be thinking in other ways - to stop thinking they have to remain glued to a system that has failed and to ideas about society that's necessarily about being run by Democrats or Republicans."

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Alice Walker Novelist, Poet
Ideas

"You are saying, are you not, I said to Manuelito, that stories have more room in them than ideas? [...] He laughed. That is correct, Señor. It is as if ideas are made of blocks. Rigid and hard. And stories are made of a gauze that is elastic. You can almost see through it, so what is beyond is tantalizing. You can't quite make it out; and because the imagination is always moving forward, you yourself are constantly stretching. Stories are the way spirit is exercised."

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Will Smith Actor, Producer, Rapper
Ideas

"I don't want to be an icon. I want to be an idea. I want to represent possibilities."

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Woody Allen Director, Actor, Writer
Ideas

"Since I was a kid, I could make up stories, I could make up funny jokes and I could always do it. When I'm walking down the street or having dinner, ideas will hit me, and I write them down on matchbooks or napkins and throw them in the draw."

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Umberto Eco Writer, Philosopher, Literary Critic
Ideas

"True learning must not be content with ideas, which are, in fact, signs, but must discover things in their individual truth."

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Samuel Longfellow Theologian, Poet
Ideas

"The word; the forth-speaking of a thought, an idea, a truth, is the beginning of every new creation, or pulse of creation. It is the inauguration of every new order of things; it begins every new messianic reign, every coming of a better time. The darkness never comprehends it; but always, to as many as receive it, it gives power."

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Viola Davis Actress, Producer
Ideas

"I didn't see myself any different from my white counterparts in school. I just didn't! I thought I could do what they did. And what I didn't do well, I thought people were going to give me the opportunity to do well, because maybe they saw my talent, so they would give me a chance. I had no idea that they would see me completely different."

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Ray Bradbury Author
Ideas

"Love is easy, and I love writing. You can't resist love. You get an idea, someone says something, and you're in love."

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Ray Bradbury Author
Ideas

"Science fiction is any idea that occurs in the head and doesn't exist yet, but soon will, and will change everything for everybody, and nothing will ever be the same again. As soon as you have an idea that changes some small part of the world you are writing science fiction. It is always the art of the possible, never the impossible."

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Thomas A. Edison Inventor
Ideas

"Because I readily absorb ideas from every source - frequently starting where the last person left off - I never pick up an item without thinking of how I might improve it."

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Thomas A. Edison Inventor
Ideas

"Because ideas have to be original only with regard to their adaptation to the problem at hand, I am always extremely interested in how others have used used them."

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Ideas

"I don't have a Facebook or a Twitter account, and I don't know how I feel about this idea of, "Now, I'm eating dinner, and I want everyone to know that I'm having dinner at this time." or "I just mailed a letter and dropped off my kids." That, to me, is a very strange phenomenon."

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Seth Godin Author, Entrepreneur
Ideas

"If you speak up online and your ideas have currency, people are going to show up and want to connect with you. What we need more of are people with the guts and emotional labour to do this. The greatest shortage in today's society is an instinct to produce."

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