1990s

Explore 747 quotes from the 1990s

We are glorious accidents of an unpredictable process with no drive to complexity, not the expected results of evolutionary principles that yearn to produce a creature capable of understanding the mode of its own necessary construction.

Stephen Jay Gould

More information about this quote

Topic

Intelligent life Human evolution Evolution Randomness

Author

Stephen Jay Gould

Source

Full House

Language

English

Time

1996 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Gould, Stephen Jay. Full House: The Spread of Excellence from Plato to Darwin. Harmony Books, 1996, pt. 4, ch. 14.

Every time you open your wardrobe, you look at your clothes and wonder what you are going to wear. What you are really saying is "Who am I going to be today?"

Fay Weldon

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Topic

Clothing Identity

Author

Fay Weldon

Source

The New Yorker

Medium

Magazine

Language

English

Time

1995 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Weldon, Fay. Quoted in The New Yorker. 26 June 1995.

We of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations who participated in the decisions on Vietnam acted according to what we thought were the priniples and traditions of this nation. We made our decisions in the light of those values. Yet we were wrong, terribbly wrong. We owe it to future generations to explain why.

Robert McNamara

More information about this quote

Topic

Vietnam War

Author

Robert McNamara

Genre

Historical literature

Language

English

Time

1995 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

McNamara, Robert. In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam. Random House, 1995, preface.

The only ones who remember when you came in second are your wife and your dog.

Damon Hill

More information about this quote

Topic

Winning and losing Second place Losing

Author

Damon Hill

Source

The Sunday Times

Medium

Newspaper

Language

English

Time

1994 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 0

Citation

Hill, Damon. The Sunday Times. 18 Dec. 1994.

"You", your joys and your sorrows, your memories and ambitions, your sense of personal identity and free will, are in fact no more than the behaviour of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules.

Francis Crick

More information about this quote

Topic

Free will The soul Nature of man

Author

Francis Crick

Genre

Scientific literature

Language

English

Time

1994 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Crick, Frances. The Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1994, ch. 1.

Science is an integral part of culture. It's not this foreign thing, done by an arcane priesthood. It's one of the glories of the human intellectual tradition.

Stephen Jay Gould

More information about this quote

Topic

Nature of science Science

Author

Stephen Jay Gould

Source

The Independent

Genre

Newspaper

Language

English

Time

1990 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Gould, Stephen Jay. Independent. 24 Jan. 1990.

And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.

Roald Dahl

The Minpins

More information about this quote

Topic

Secrets Paying attention Magic

Author

Roald Dahl

Source

The Minpins

Medium

Novel

Genre

Children's literature

Language

English

Time

1990 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Dahl, Roald. The Minpins. Jonathan Cape, 1991.

At its best monogamy may be the wish to find someone to die with; at its worst it is a cure for the terrors of aliveness. They are easily confused.

Adam Phillips

More information about this quote

Topic

Marriage

Author

Adam Phillips

Source

Monogamy

Language

English

Time

1996 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Phillips, Adam. Monogamy. Faber & Faber/Pantheon Books, 1996.

We are on the edge of change comparable to the rise of human life on Earth. The precise cause of this change is the imminent creation by technology of entities with greater than human intelligence.

Vernor Vinge

More information about this quote

Topic

Artificial intelligence Technological progress

Speaker

Vernor Vinge

Medium

Speech

Language

English

Time

1993 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Vinge, Vernor. "Technological Singularity." VISION-21 Symposium. 30 Mar. 1993 - 31 Mar. 1993, NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH, USA. Speech.

It is... Time to get back to basics: to self-discipline and respect for the law, to consideration for others, to accepting responsibility for yourself and your family, and not shuffling it off on the state.

John Major

More information about this quote

Topic

Personal responsibility Politics

Author

John Major

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1993 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 0

Citation

Major, John. Speech at the Conservative Party Conference. Conservative Pary Conference. 8 Oct. 1993, Blackpool, Lancashire, England, UK.

The most dangerous of devotions, in my opinion, is the one endemic to Christianity: I was not born to be of this world. With a second life waiting, suffering can be endured-especially in other people. The natural environment can be used up. Enemies of the faith can be savaged and suicidal martyrdom praised.

E.O. Wilson

More information about this quote

Topic

Criticism of religion Christianity

Author

E.O. Wilson

Source

Consilience

Language

English

Time

1998 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Wilson, Edward Osborne. Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge. Alfred A. Knopf, 1998, ch. 11.

Our foreign policy must have an ethical dimension and must support the demands of other people for the democratic rights on which we insist for ourselves.

Robin Cook

More information about this quote

Topic

Morality in foreign policy Foreign policy International politics

Speaker

Robin Cook

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1997 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Cook, Robin. Mission statement. 12 May 1997, UK.

We are a facing a mood and a movement far transcending the level of issues and policies and the governments that pursue them. This is no less than a clash of civilization-the perhaps irrational but surely historic reaction of an ancient rival against our Judeo-Christian heritage, our secular preseent, and the worldwide expansion of both.

Bernard Lewis

More information about this quote

Topic

Clash of civilizations Islam

Author

Bernard Lewis

Source

The Roots of Muslim Rage

Medium

Essay

Language

English

Time

1990 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Lewis, Bernard. "The Roots of Muslim Rage." The Atlantic Monthly, Sept. 1990.

One of the great achievements of science has been, if not to make it impossible for intelligent people to be religious, then at least to make it possible for them not to be religious. We should not retreat from this accomplishment.

Steven Weinberg

More information about this quote

Topic

Science and religion

Speaker

Steven Weinberg

Medium

Speech

Language

English

Time

1999 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Weinberg, Steven. "A Designer Universe." Conference on Cosmic Design. 1999, Washington, DC, USA. Speech.

It isn't just that I don't believe in God... It's that I hope there is no God! I don't want there to be a God; I don't want the universe to be like that.

Thomas Nagel

More information about this quote

Topic

Belief in God Existence of God

Author

Thomas Nagel

Source

The Last Word

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

English

Time

1997 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Nagel, Thomas. The Last Word. Oxford University Press, 1997, ch. 7.

Harry Potter was a highly unusual boy in many ways.

J.K. Rowling

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Author

J.K. Rowling

Source

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Medium

Novel

Statement Type

Opening lines

Language

English

Time

1999 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Bloomsbury/Scholastic, 1999, ch. 1.

Forget everything you've seen on television and in the movies. There won't be any last minute, surprise witnesses. No one will break down on the stand with a tearful confession.

Philadelphia

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Topic

Media criticism Media

Speaker

Joe Miller

Actor

Denzel Washington

Source

Philadelphia

Medium

Film

Genre

Drama (film) Drama

Language

English

Time

1993 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Philadelphia. Directed by Jonathan Demme. Clinica Estetico/TriStar Pictures, 1993.

Hamburgers! The cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast.

Pulp Fiction

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More information about this quote

Topic

Burgers Food

Speaker

Jules Winnfield

Actor

Samuel L. Jackson

Source

Pulp Fiction

Medium

Film

Genre

Neo-noir Crime (film) Crime

Language

English

Time

1994 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Pulp Fiction. Directed by Quentin Tarantino, A Band Apart/Jersey Films, 1994.

We're consumers. We're by-products of a lifestyle obsession.

Tyler Durden

Fight Club

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More information about this quote

Topic

Consumerism

Speaker

Tyler Durden

Actor

Brad Pitt

Source

Fight Club

Medium

Film

Genre

Drama (film) Drama

Language

English

Time

1999 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Fight Club. Directed by David Fincher, Fox 2000 Pictures/Regency Enterprises/Linson Films, 1999.

It's ironic... That we've come all this way, we made all this progress, but you know, we lost the little things, the niceties.

Elaine Benes

Seinfeld

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More information about this quote

Topic

Downsides of progress Progress

Speaker

Elaine Benes

Actor

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Source

Seinfeld

Medium

TV program

Genre

Sitcom Comedy (TV) Comedy

Language

English

Time

1992 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

"The Subway." Seinfeld, written by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld and Larry Charles, directed by Tom Cherones, season 3, episode 13, Shapiro/West Productions and Castle Rock Entertainment, 1992.