Marilyn vos Savant Quotes

The chess player who develops the ability to play two dozen boards at a time will benefit from learning to compress his or her analysis into less time.

Know how your representatives stand on major national or state issues.

A 45-year old looks a lot like a 25-year old who's been out all night. And feels just as good about having survived the experience.

Know the difference between principles based on right or wrong vs. principles based on personal gain, and consider the basis of your own principles.

Capital punishment is the source of many an argument, both good and bad.

Be able to recognize when you're reading or hearing material biased to your own side.

It is a lot easier to prove that you don't love someone than it is to prove that you do, but one of the best 'proofs' I know is the desire to devote time to the person with no expectation of any sort of compensation, including gratitude, in return.

Multi-tasking arises out of distraction itself.

Spending waiting moments doing crossword puzzles or reading a book you brought yourself.

Success may be the ability to be happy with whatever we're stuck with.

[When asked if the voice is an instrument:] Yes, of course. Some are violins, some are fountain pens and some are stethoscopes. And others are just washboards.

Feeling is what you get for thinking the way you do.

I believe Picasso's success is just one small part of the broader modern phenomenon of artists themselves rejecting serious art- perhaps partly because serious art takes so much time and energy and talent to produce-in favor of what I call `impulse art': art work that is quick and easy, at least by comparison.

Loving behavior contributes to the group at the expense of the individual. Competition contributes to the survival of the individual at the expense of the group. In the garden of life, some people are more like flowers, and other people are more like weeds.

Know what to do if you feel faint or dizzy, especially if you might fall and hit your head.

Be able to describe anything visual, such as a street scene, in words that convey your meaning.

I believe that one can indeed work on two or more tasks at once, but in ways yet to be understood.

Be able to cite three good qualities of every relative or acquaintance that you dislike.

Suppose you're on a game show, and you're given the choice of three doors. Behind one door is a car, the others, goats. You pick a door, say #1, and the host, who knows what's behind the doors, opens another door, say #3, which has a goat. He says to you: 'Do you want to pick door #2?' Is it to your advantage to switch your choice of doors?

Be able to recognize many of the major constellations and know the stories behind them

Many people feel they must multi-task because everybody else is multitasking, but this is partly because they are all interrupting each other so much.

The squeaky wheel may get the most oil, but it's also the first to be replaced.

A good leader needs to stand behind his or her followers as often as he or she needs to stand in front of them.

Be able to hiccup silently, or at least without alerting neighbors to your situation. The first hiccup is an exception.

Be able to sneeze without sounding ridiculous. That means neither stifling yourself or spraying your immediate vicinity.

Profit is what we have left after we make a donation to a worthwhile cause.

Be able to tell whether garments that look good on the hanger actually look good on you

Understand why casinos and racetracks stay in business - the gambler always loses over the long term.

Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent.

The magnitude of an action may change not only the strength of its impact, but the direction. If you became a dentist, for example, you would certainly be an asset to our society. But what if everyone became a dentist? Who would bake the bread? Who would build the houses?

People who work crossword puzzles know that if they stop making progress, they should put the puzzle down for a while.

The freedom to be an individual is the essence of America.

I suspect that some apparently homosexual people are really heterosexuals who deeply phobic about the opposite sex or have other emotional problems.

Know how to travel from your town to a nearby town without a car, either by bus or by rail.

At first, I only laughed at myself. Then I noticed that life itself is amusing. I've been in a generally good mood ever since.

Be sure to expose yourself to criticism: A fine polish requires an abrasive.

Scientists and creationists are always at odds, of course.

I think change is possible, but only for individuals who were never truly gay in the first place and who have a strong personal motivation to recover their heterosexuality.

Know how and how much to tip people who expect gratuities, even in the case of poor service.

Know how to garnish food so that it is more appealing to the eye and even more flavorful than before.

I think one of the problems [with raising intelligent children] is compulsory schooling...and that children are sitting there and they are taught and told what to believe. They are passive from the very beginning, and one must be very, very aggressive intellectually to have a high IQ [...] the child is taught. Right from the beginning, it's a passive process. He or she sits there, and they simply try to believe everything they're told.

Have you ever noticed that when you must struggle to hear something, you close your eyes?

I believe that one becomes stronger emotionally by taking life less personally. If your employer criticizes your report, don't take it personally. Instead, find out what's needed and fix it. If your girlfriend laughs at your tie, don't take it personally. Find another tie or find another girlfriend.

One of the few articles of clothing that a man won't try to remove from a woman is an apron.

Although spoken English doesn't obey the rules of written language, a person who doesn't know the rules thoroughly is at a great disadvantage.