Neutrally Quotes & Sayings

Before I began research for this book I was not consciously aware that women were aggressive in indirect ways, that they gossiped and ostracized each other incessantly, and did not acknowledge their own envious and competitive feelings. I now understand that, in order to survive as a woman, among women, one must speak carefully, cautiously, neutrally, indirectly; one must pay careful attention to what more socially powerful women have to say before one speaks; one must learn how to flatter, manipulate, aree with, and appease them. And, if one is hurt or offended by another woman, one does not say so outright; one expresses it indirectly, by turning others against her.
Of course, I refuse to learn these "girlish" lessons. — Phyllis Chesler

But if a few awake, you can't say there is no hope of destroying the iron house. — Lu Xun

When watching people use gadgets and software, we need to remember that the way they're making use of their context is largely being determined by the structures available to them. Often, I have heard e-commerce clients complain that their customers are using the online shopping cart improperly, as a sort of wish-list, even when the site provides a separate wish-list function. Though when you look at the environment neutrally as a cluster of environmental structures, it becomes clear that Add to Cart is usually a much easier and quicker function to find and use than Add to Wish-List - the button tends to be more prominent, more available, and the "Cart" itself is always represented somewhere (normally as a concrete metaphor with a picture of a cart) regardless of where the user is shopping. Why wouldn't the user make use of such an available, straightforward environmental structure over a less-available abstraction? — Andrew Hinton

Nietzsche says very clearly all the way through his career that if you want to define human nature the first thing you must say is that human beings insist on value
we see the world through value colored eyes. We do not know how to look at things neutrally, value-free. So, it's not a question of giving up all values, it's simply a question of which values. — Robert C. Solomon

You like this stuff?' she asked neutrally. 'Good to dance to,' I replied, a little defensively. 'Do you dance to it? Here? In your room? By yourself?' 'No, not really.' Though of course I did. — Julian Barnes

Interesting, isn't it, that even though more than two and a half decades have passed since the sexual revolution brought women a new measure of sexual freedom, there's still no word in the language that doesn't reek with pejorative connotation to describe a woman who has sex freely. Since language frames thought and sets its limits, this is not a trivial matter. For without a word that describes without condemning, it's hard to think about it neutrally as well. When we say the words 'promiscuous woman,' therefore, it's a statement about her character, not just her sexual behavior. — Lillian B. Rubin

Haroche opened his hand, dismissing the difference. "A matter of medical definition, not practical use. I'm a practical man. I've been studying the reports of your Dendarii missions for ImpSec. You and Simon Illyan made an extraordinary team." We were the best, oh yes. Miles grunted, neutrally, suddenly uncertain of just where Haroche was leading. Haroche smiled wryly. "Filling Illyan's place is a damned big challenge. I'm reluctant to give up any advantage. Now that I've had a chance to work with you in person, and look over your records in real detail . . . I'm increasingly sure that Illyan made a serious mistake when he discharged you. — Lois McMaster Bujold

The sad truth is that it is precisely those who disagree most with the hypothesis of efficient market pricing of stocks, those who pooh-pooh beta analysis and all that, who are least able to understand the analysis needed to test that hypothesis. — Paul Samuelson

I prefer the mountains." He said it quietly,neutrally.
She suddenly grinned at him, that mischievous,impish smile he couldn't resist. "When an old geezer marries a young chick,he has to learn to get back into the swing of things. Party time. Night life.Does it ring a bell, or has it been too long?" she teased.
Gregori bunched her hair in his hand and tugged."Show some respect, bebe,or I might have to turn you over my knee."
"Kinky." One delicate shoulder rose and fell in a sexy little shrug. "I'm willing to try anything once. — Christine Feehan

When you're walking in, basically like a kid a candy store, to a project where there's an endless canon of material, you have to step back from it as a self-indulgence. You have to look at it neutrally. — Josh Groban

I want to be your first everything. — Penny Reid

The acting style that has emerged from HD, because of the contrast and how sharp the picture is, it's more neutrally played. The main character is very minamalistic. That's what works in this digital age. — Dolph Lundgren

R.E.A.L. conversation: Recognize judgments. Express thoughts neutrally. Ask questions. Listen for verbal & non-verbal messages. — John Stoker

Nonjudging is neutrally noticing your own internal states. — Emily Nagoski

A minute or two more and Orlant disengaged, and swore. 'Are you going to fight me or not?'
You said we were sparring,' said Damen, neutrally.
Orlant flung down his sword, took two steps off to one of the watching men, and pulled from its sheath thirty inches of polished steel straightsword, which without preamble he returned to swing with killing speed at Damen's neck. — C.S. Pacat

Traditional sitting postures - whether on a bench, zafu, or some other type of support - were developed to make the most of the body's natural energy flow. An upright, neutrally aligned spine allows for the most efficient movement of energy. When the spine, and therefore the spinal cord, is in an easy, neutral position, the nervous system has a much better chance of finding equilibrium, which creates a supportive environment for the mind to quiet. — Charlotte Bell

Truly, men often fail to understand their own weaknesses," I said neutrally, "and their lack of self-knowledge can bring terrible disasters down on their own heads. — Xenophon

[Henry James'] essay's closing lines can either be read neutrally or as a more purposeful wish that this mystery [of Shakespeare's authorship] will one day be resolved by the 'criticism of the future': 'The figured tapestry, the long arras that hides him, is always there ... May it not then be but a question, for the fullness of time, of the finer weapon, the sharper point, the stronger arm, the more extended lunge?' Is Shakespeare hinting here that one day critics will hit upon another, more suitable candidate, identify the individual in whom the man and artist converge and are 'one'? If so, his choice of metaphor - recalling Hamlet's lunge at the arras in the closet scene - is fortunate. Could James have forgotten that the sharp point of Hamlet's weapon finds the wrong man? — James Shapiro

The jacaranda in the courtyard has put on its bloom. This purple can't be ignored, it's like a tree singing. The walk down Londres Street to the market is a concert: the small jacaranda on the the corner hums the tuning note, then all others in the lane join in. — Barbara Kingsolver

Schumpeter may well have seen singles as rational. but in a survey of Americans conducted in 1957, more than half the respondents said that unmarried people were "sick", "immoral", or "neurotic," while about a third viewed them "neutrally". — Eric Klinenberg

I never trusted anybody at all. I don't know why it was so hard, I just didn't. — Marianne Faithfull

The problem was acutely described in 1909 in a penetrating essay by Adolf Schlatter: According to the sceptical position, it is true that the historian explains; he observes the New Testament neutrally. But in reality this is to begin at once with a determined struggle against it. The word with which the New Testament confronts us intends to be believed, and so rules out once and for all any sort of neutral treatment. As soon as the historian sets aside or brackets the question of faith, he is making his concern with the New Testament and his presentation of it into a radical and total polemic against it.... If he claims to be an observer, concerned solely with his object, then he is concealing what is really happening. As a matter of fact, he is always in possession of certain convictions, and these determine him not simply in the sense that his judgments derive from them, but also in that his perception and observation is molded by them.352 — Ellen F. Davis

It's cold out there, colder than a ticket taker's smile at the Ivar Theatre on a Saturday night. — Tom Waits

Let us learn to skillfully draw good out of what would otherwise cause us harm. — Mary Euphrasia Pelletier