"The truly correct proof is one that strikes a harmonious balance between strength and flexibility. There are plenty of proofs that are technically correct but are messy and inelegant or counterintuitive. But it's not something you can put into words—explaining why a formula is beautiful is like trying to explain why the stars are beautiful."
Yōko Ogawa: The housekeeper and the professor
"That's ridiculous. How can meat make a machine? You're asking me to believe in sentient meat."
If the Universe came to an end every time there was some uncertainty about what had happened in it, it would never have got beyond the first picosecond. And many of course don't. It's like a human body, you see. A few cuts and bruises here and there don't hurt it. Not even major surgery if it's done properly. Paradoxes are just the scar tissue. Time and space heal themselves up around them and people simply remember a version of events which makes as much sense as they require it to make.
Douglas Adams: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
quoted by Long Distance Calling in Flux
We were wanderers from the beginning. We knew every stand of tree for a hundred miles. [...] We depended on one another. Making it on our own was as ludicous to imagine as was settling down.
