#superstition

The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honorable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this. These subtilised interpretations are highly manifold according to their nature and have almost nothing to do with the original text. For me the Jewish religion like all other religions is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions. ↗

— Albert Einstein

#belief #myths #superstition #weakness #nature

Patriotism ... is a superstition artificially created and maintained through a network of lies and falsehoods; a superstition that robs man of his self-respect and dignity, and increases his arrogance and conceit. ↗

— Emma Goldman

#emma-goldman #patriotism #superstition #respect

To ride a bicycle is in itself some protection against superstitious fears, since the bicycle is the product of pure reason applied to motion. Geometry at the service of man! Give me two spheres and a straight line and I will show you how far I can take them. Voltaire himself might have invented the bicycle, since it contributes so much to man’s welfare and nothing at all to his bane. Beneficial to the health, it emits no harmful fumes and permits only the most decorous speeds. How can a bicycle ever be an implement of harm? ↗

— Angela Carter

#reason #science #superstition #science

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. ↗

— Helen Keller

#avoiding #children #danger #daring #does

Aaah ... when two Neptunes appear in the sky it is a sure sign that a midget in glasses is being born, Harry... ↗

— J.K. Rowling

#superstition #sky

Superstition is the religion of feeble minds. ↗

— Edmund Burke

#minds #religion #superstition

Superstitions are habits rather than beliefs. ↗

— Marlene Dietrich

#habits #rather #superstitions #than

I tend to eat things in fours. I'll eat four nuts, four grapes, four chips at a time. I don't know why. It's not really a superstition. I don't think anything bad will happen if I don't, but three potato chips doesn't seem right. ↗

— Jimmy Wales

#bad #chips #eat #four #fours

A superstition which pretends to be scientific creates a much greater confusion of thought than one which contents itself with simple popular practices. ↗

— Johan Huizinga

#contents #creates #greater #itself #much

A belief which leaves no place for doubt is not a belief; it is a superstition. ↗

— Jose Bergamin

#doubt #leaves #place #superstition #which