Abhijit Banerjee Quotes & Sayings

Physicists are working on the Big Bang, and one day they may or may not solve it. — Richard Dawkins

When we're not together, I want to be. When we're not touching, I hold out hope for just the slightest, accidental graze. You're all I think about and it's because my whole world is falling for you. Hard. — Georgia Cates

We must arm ourselves with patience and wisdom and listen to the poor what they want. This is the best way to avoid the trap of ignorance, ideology and inertia on our side. — Abhijit V. Banerjee

There are those who don't understand the nobility of horror fiction. 'Isn't there enough horror in the world?' they ask. For all other forms of literature, the value of human life is optional. For horror fiction, it's absolutely necessary. If we don't value the life of the threatened protagonist, we can't be scared. And through our fear, we better understand the individual fears and values of our species across the world. — E.C. McMullen Jr.

For example, people who don't know how to drive may nevertheless want to drive their car. But society feels that it is better if they don't, because of what it means for the rest of us. A free market in driver's licenses obviously cannot solve this problem. — Abhijit V. Banerjee

It might therefore be better for the decentralization to be designed by a centralized authority, with the interest of the less advantaged or less powerful in mind. Power to the people, but not all the power. — Abhijit V. Banerjee

In English, my name means hope. In Spanish, it means too many letters. It means sadness. It means waiting. It is like the number nine, a muddy color. — Sandra Cisneros

I believe that poverty is often the result of inappropriate behavior - out-of-wedlock births, dropping out of school, crime and drugs - which should not be rewarded. But often it isn't, and common decency requires that we take care of the least of these. — Joe Klein

Poverty is not just a lack of money; it is not having the capability to realize one's full potential as a human being. — Abhijit V. Banerjee

A combination of unrealistic goals, unnecessarily pessimistic expectations, and the wrong incentives for teachers contributes to ensure that education systems in developing countries fail their two main tasks: giving everyone a sound basic set of skills, and identifying talent. — Abhijit V. Banerjee

If the rules make such a difference, then it becomes very important who gets to make them. — Abhijit V. Banerjee

Don't forget where journey started, when you reach your final destination. — Lailah Gifty Akita

The poor are no less rational than anyone else - quite the contrary. Precisely because they have so little, we often find them putting much careful thought into their choices:They have to be sophisticated economists just to survive. — Abhijit V. Banerjee

The poor stay poor here because they do not save enough. — Abhijit V. Banerjee

I graduated from high school and couldn't find a job, which is when I decided to set up as a doctor. — Abhijit V. Banerjee

There is always some cheap pleasant thing to tempt you. — Abhijit V. Banerjee

If the teachers and the parents do not believe that the child can cross the hump and get into the steep part of the S - curve, they may as well not try: The teacher ignores the children who have fallen behind and the parent stops taking interest in their education. But this behavior creates a poverty trap even where none exists in the first place. — Abhijit V. Banerjee

The parts of the brain corresponding to the limbic system (thought to respond only to more visceral, immediate rewards) were activated only when the decision involved comparing a reward today with one in the future. In contrast, the lateral prefrontal cortex (a more "calculating" part of the brain) responded with a similar intensity to all decisions, regardless of the timing of the options. Brains that work like this would produce a lot of failed good intentions. And indeed, we do see a lot of those, from New Year's resolutions to gym memberships that lie unused. — Abhijit V. Banerjee

I had dinner with Marlene Dietrich in the early 1970s. I went to pick her up and she had someone with her, a dreadful man. He was writing a book about her, and he said to her, 'You're so cold when you perform,' and she said, 'You didn't listen to the voice.' She said the difficulty was to place the voice with the face. — Robert Wilson

But then it is easy, too easy, to sermonize about the dangers of paternalism and the need to take responsibility for our own lives, from the comfort of our couch in our safe and sanitary home. Aren't we, those who live in the rich world, the constant beneficiaries of a paternalism now so thoroughly embedded into the system that we hardly notice it? — Abhijit V. Banerjee

Women's Magazine, "A study found that the act of physically closing your menu once you've decided what to order can make you feel more satisfied with your choice. — Jessica Knoll

I homeschool, so the start of the day is reading Bible scripture, memorization, and prayer. — Jodi Benson

One thing we may be sure of, however: For the believer all pain has meaning; all adversity is profitable. There is no question that adversity is difficult. It usually takes us by surprise and seems to strike where we are most vulnerable. To us it often appears completely senseless and irrational, but to God none of it is either senseless or irrational. He has a purpose in every pain He brings or allows in our lives. We can be sure that in some way He intends it for our profit and His glory. — Jerry Bridges