#useless

Invention consists in avoiding the constructing of useless contraptions and in constructing the useful combinations which are in infinite minority. ↗

— Henri Poincare

#combinations #consists #constructing #infinite #invention

It is better wither to be silent, or to say things of more value than silence. Sooner throw a pearl at hazard than an idle or useless word; and do not say a little in many words, but a great deal in a few. ↗

— Pythagoras

#deal #few #great #great deal #hazard

Already, in the last few decades, you have realized the utter futility of of encumbering yourselves with superfluous possessions that have no useful virtue, but which, for various sentimental reasons, you continue to hoard, thus lessening your life's efficiency by using for it time and attention that should have been applied to the practical work of life's accomplishments. (The Miracle of the Lily - 1928) ↗

— Clare Winger Harris

#material-possessions #materialism #possessions #uselessness #wasted-time

And to say that society ought to be governed by the opinion of the wisest and best, though true, is useless. Whose opinion is to decide who are the wisest and best? ↗

— Thomas Babington Macaulay

#decide #governed #opinion #ought #say

Useless knowledge can be made directly contributory to a force of sound and disinterested public opinion. ↗

— Albert J. Nock

#directly #disinterested #force #knowledge #made

We must not confuse distortion with innovation; distortion is useless change, art is beneficial change. ↗

— Chuck Jones

#beneficial #change #confuse #distortion #innovation

It is better, of course, to know useless things than to know nothing. ↗

— Lucius Annaeus Seneca

#course #know #nothing #than #things

It is better of course to know useless things than to know nothing. ↗

— Tom Stoppard

#course #know #nothing #than #things

It's useless to play lullabies for those who cannot sleep. ↗

— John Cage

#play #sleep #those #useless #who

So I'll write it, and then I'll find out that I actually wrote something that is utterly useless. You can't use it in the story and it doesn't fit. So I just throw it away. I've done that countless times. ↗

— Jack Vance

#away #countless #done #find #fit