Before starting, I must apologize to everyone, especially
@Isaac, for ruining this thread and their shared interesting quotes. However, I see thousands of quotes shared daily on social media that nobody actually thinks about them. I'm on the verge of exploding, so let me clear my mind here.
<rant>
First, famous quotes are often taken out of context or misunderstood.
Second, they don’t always represent the author’s own beliefs; they are often just the opinions of a fictional character in a story, which may be a good advice or a bad one.
I think many people misunderstand quotes from literature. A lot of these lines are shared online as if they
represent the author’s personal philosophy. But in many cases, I would even say most cases, the quote is simply something a character in their book says. And sometimes that character is not a good person.
Writers create characters with their own worldview. If the character is manipulative, nihilistic, or power-hungry,
they may say things that sound intelligent and powerful, but are morally wrong. That doesn’t mean the author agrees with them.
To thine own self be true (Shakespeare)
This is often used in graduation speeches as a call for authenticity.
But Shakespeare's intent was actually opposite to how it's used. Shakespeare gave this line to Polonius in Hamlet. Polonius is portrayed as a pompous, hypocritical windbag who gives long-winded, cliché advice that he doesn't even follow himself. Shakespeare was likely poking fun at people who give "perfect" advice.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
I've heard it so many times, even here, but the Reality is: In a changing world, "not broken" often means "becoming obsolete." It discourages continuous improvement and innovation. To improve something, you work on it, it gets broken, you correct the broken parts and it improves.
Winners never quit and quitters never win.
It sounds like a logical tribute to persistence. But if you ask me, It ignores the sunk-cost fallacy. Smart people "quit" bad investments, failing projects, or toxic relationships to focus their energy on things they can do better.
Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.
It's used to say that high goals always lead to high secondary results.
But think about it. Doesn't it encourage reckless planning. Missing a massive, resource-heavy goal often results in "landing" in failure, not a win.
Knowledge is Power (Francis Bacon)
At first glance: undeniable. But knowledge without judgment, ethics, discipline, emotional maturity can become manipulation, exploitation, or control. Knowledge amplifies capacity, good or bad. It doesn’t automatically create virtue.
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely (From John Dalberg Acton)
This sounds deeply insightful, and often is. But taken too literally, it implies:
Anyone in authority will inevitably become corrupt. Power itself is morally poisonous.
That belief can justify : Distrust everyone in leadership. But I know a lot of those who have been in power and never corrupted.
So, to sum it up, I think it's more important to show in which context it's been told, rather than who told it.
</rant>
Again, my sincere apology to all. I don't mean the shared quotes are not correct. As I said, I had to get this feeling off my chest.
