Listen, three eyes," he said, "don't you try to outweird me, I get stranger things than you free with my breakfast cereal.
Douglas AdamsRead
If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family anatidae on our hands.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote humorously suggests that if something exhibits certain characteristics, it should not be dismissed as something else.
Douglas Adams uses this quote to convey that when something clearly resembles a certain type, such as a duck, we should reasonably consider it to be that thing. This statement reflects a deeper philosophical idea about perception and reality, highlighting the importance of reasoning based on observable evidence rather than assumptions or prejudice.
Themes
DuckPerceptionRealityEvidencePhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about clear evidence, one might quote this to emphasize logical reasoning.
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All quotes →"What's so unpleasant about being drunk?" "Ask a glass of water."
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Protect me from knowing what I don't need to know. Protect me from even knowing that there are things to know that I don't know. Protect me from knowing that I decided not to know about the things that I decided not to know about. Amen. [...] Lord, lord, lord. Protect me from the consequences of the above prayer.
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Computers are still technology because we are still wrestling with it: it's still being invented; we're still trying to work out how it works. There's a world of game interaction to come that you or I wouldn't recognise. It's time for the machines to disappear. The computer's got to disappear into all of the things we use.
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We are stuck with technology when all we really want is just stuff that works. How do you recognize something that is still technology? A good clue is if it comes with a manual.
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