Aphorisms

No one is normal once you get to know them.

COROLLARY:
Everyone has their troubles.

No one is good at grieving.

Patience, and shuffle the cards.

Every day must be a means and should be an end.

Wrestle with God long enough and He will bless you, name you "God-fighter," and put your ass out of joint.
—Genesis 32:22-32

Error has rights. It's still wrong.

Let people do what they want and they'll imitate each other.

Let people do what they want and they'll choose sides.

Frighten people and they'll look for a leader.

Whatever the system, the power-hungry will learn to game it.

COROLLARY:
The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly. The rich have always objected to being governed at all.
—G. K. Chesterton

Don't assume malice if stupidity will do.
—Hanlon's Razor

Divide and conquer.

Opposite evils do not cancel; they aggravate each other.
—C. S. Lewis

COROLLARY:
Opposite injustices do not make justice.

People do know better. That's not the solution; that's the problem.

Humanity is like a drunk on a donkey: if he falls off on the right side, next time he'll fall off on the left.
—after Martin Luther

If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

COROLLARY:
Things should be made as simple as possible but no simpler.
—after Albert Einstein

Abusus non tollit usus. ("The abuse does not remove the use.")
—Thomas Aquinas

COROLLARY:
An idea is not responsible for the people who believe it.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? ("Who watches the watchers?")

Cui bono? ("Who benefits?" a.k.a. "Follow the money.")

Urgent is not the same as important.

Laws of engineering:
• Everything takes longer and costs more. •
• Good, fast, cheap: pick two. •
• Anything that can go wrong, will. (Murphy's Law) •
• Error correction is a highly error-prone process. •

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