Mistakes, scandals, and failures no longer signal catastrophe. The crucial thing is that they be made credible, and that the publi...c be made aware of the efforts being expended in that direction. The "marketing" immunity of governments is similar to that of the major brands of washing powder.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
Some animals, especially domesticated animals, are extremely susceptible to signs. A dog will react to the slightest change in the... behavior of his master; he will even distinguish the expressions of a human face or the modulations of a human voice. But it is far cry from these phenomena to an understanding of symbolic and human speech.... Symbols--in the proper sense of this term--cannot be reduced to mere signals. Signals and symbols belong to two different universes of discourse: a signal is a part of the physical world of being; a symbol is a part of the human world of meaning. Signals are "operators"; symbols are "designators."LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
It is exasperating to see little brown men and little yellow men from the mysterious Orient, and the opaque black men of Africa (t...o say nothing of those impudent American Negroes!) who come to the U.N. and talk smart to us, who are scurrying all over our globe in their strange modes of dress--much as if they were new, unpleasant arrivals from another planet. Many whites believe in their ulcers that it is only a matter of time before the Marines get the signal to round up these truants and put them back securely in their cages.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
Change begets change. Nothing propagates so fast. If a man habituated to a narrow circle of cares and pleasures, out of which he s...eldom travels, step beyond it, though for never so brief a space, his departure from the monotonous scene on which he has been an actor of importance would seem to be the signal for instant confusion.... The mine which Time has slowly dug beneath familiar objects is sprung in an instant; and what was rock before, becomes but sand and dust.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
The experience of a sense of guilt for wrong-doing is necessary for the development of self-control. The guilt feelings will later... serve as a warning signal which the child can produce himself when an impulse to repeat the naughty act comes over him. When the child can produce his on warning signals, independent of the actual presence of the adult, he is on the way to developing a conscience.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
Perhaps having built a barricade when you're sixteen provides you with a sort of safety rail. If you've once taken part in buildin...g one, even inadvertently, doesn't its usually latent image reappear like a warning signal whenever you're tempted to join the police, or support any manifestation of Law and Order?LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
Nelson's famous signal before the Battle of Trafalgar was not: "England expects that every man will be a hero." It said: "England ...expects that every man will do his duty." In 1805 that was enough. It should still be.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
In its purest sense, nicknaming is an elitist ritual practiced by those who cherish hierarchy. For preppies it's a smoke signal th...at allows Bunny to tell Pooky that they belong to the same tribe, while among the good ole boys it serves the cause of masculine dominance by identifying Bear and Wrecker as Alpha males.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
A signal is comprehended if it serves to make us notice the object or situation it bespeaks. A symbol is understood when we concei...ve the idea it presents.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
Certainly the effort to remain unchanged, young, when the body gives so impressive a signal of change as the menopause, is gallant...; but it is a stupid, self-sacrificial gallantry, better befitting a boy of twenty than a woman of forty-five or fifty. Let the athletes die young and laurel-crowned. Let the soldiers earn the Purple Hearts. Let women die old, white-crowned, with human hearts.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »