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"Historically, the claim of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels; it is a way to avoid debate by claiming that the matter is already settled."
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"Some readers may have noticed an icy little missive from Noam Chomsky ["Letters," December 3], repudiating the very idea that he and I had disagreed on the "roots" of September 11. I rush to agree. Here is what he told his audience at MIT on October 11:Clever of him to have spotted that (his favorite put-down is the preface 'Turning to the facts...') and brave of him to have taken such a lonely position. As he rightly insists, our disagreements are not really political."
"Let's leave behind the predictable and stale debate between liberals and conservatives. Let's take the resources that we have, and prioritize, and manage, and focus our energy on just doing things that count - on real results."
"I take the debate on the method of promoting democracy seriously."
"Historically, the claim of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels; it is a way to avoid debate by claiming that the matter is already settled."
"No matter how you cut it, this real debate on personal accounts is about the legitimacy of Social Security; it's not about the solvency of Social Security."
"The dinner table is a lively debate, and everybody weighs in in a different way. I like that, though."
"The apologist is most entrusted with apologetics when capable of arguing his opponent's position better than his opponent."
"The most important event I covered was the Panama Canal debate, which dragged on for months."
Explore more quotes by Michael Crichton
"In the information society, nobody thinks. We expect to banish paper, but we actually banish thought."
"The belief that there are other life forms in the universe is a matter of faith. There is not a single shred of evidence for any other life forms, and in forty years of searching, none has been discovered. There is absolutely no evidentiary reason to maintain this belief."
"Books aren't written - they're rewritten. Including your own. It is one of the hardest things to accept, especially after the seventh rewrite hasn't quite done it."
"Readers probably haven't heard much about it yet, but they will. Quantum technology turns ordinary reality upside down."
"Whenever you hear the consensus of scientists agrees on something or other, reach for your wallet, because you're being had."
"Historically, the claim of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels; it is a way to avoid debate by claiming that the matter is already settled."
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