Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American writer Marilyn vos Savant.
Last updated on September 10, 2024.
Marilyn vos Savant is an American magazine columnist who has the highest recorded intelligence quotient (IQ) in the Guinness Book of Records, a competitive category the publication has since retired. Since 1986, she has written "Ask Marilyn", a Parade magazine Sunday column wherein she solves puzzles and answers questions on various subjects, and which popularised the Monty Hall problem in 1990.
Working in an office with an array of electronic devices is like trying to get something done at home with half a dozen small children around. The calls for attention are constant.
Be able to identify the most common breeds of dogs and cats on sight.
Know where to find the sunrise and sunset times and note how the sky looks at those times, at least once.
What is the essence of America? Finding and maintaining that perfect, delicate balance between freedom 'to' and freedom 'from.'
Know how to travel from your town to a nearby town without a car, either by bus or by rail.
Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent.
Be able to draw an illustration as least well enough to get your point across to another person.
Be able to analyze statistics, which can be used to support or undercut almost any argument.
Know how weather, especially humidity, can affect the movement of doors and windows.
Play more than one game at a time. This is a painless way to learn how to do many things at once.
Many people feel they must multi-task because everybody else is multitasking, but this is partly because they are all interrupting each other so much.
If your head tells you one thing, and your heart tells you another, before you do anything, you should first decide whether you have a better head or a better heart.
Attention-deficit disorders seem to abound in modern society, and we don't know the cause.
Be able to correctly pronounce the words you would like to speak and have excellent spoken grammar.
Be able to notice all the confusion between fact and opinion that appears in the news.
Know how to garnish food so that it is more appealing to the eye and even more flavorful than before.
Know the official post office abbreviations for all 50 states without having to consult a list.
Know how to behave at a buffet. Take a clean plate for a second helping.
Be able to read blueprints, diagrams, floorplans, and other diagrams used in the construction process.
I suspect that some apparently homosexual people are really heterosexuals who deeply phobic about the opposite sex or have other emotional problems.
Be able to meet any deadline, even if your work is done less well than it would be if you had all the time you would have preferred.
Be able to recognize when you're reading or hearing material biased to your own side.
Avoid using cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs as alternatives to being an interesting person.
At first, I only laughed at myself. Then I noticed that life itself is amusing. I've been in a generally good mood ever since.
Be able to defend your arguments in a rational way. Otherwise, all you have is an opinion.
Teens think listening to music helps them concentrate. It doesn't. It relieves them of the boredom that concentration on homework induces.
Be able to go shopping for a bathing suit and not become depressed afterward.
Capital punishment is the source of many an argument, both good and bad.
The length of your education is less important than its breadth, and the length of your life is less important than its depth.
Be able to recognize many of the major constellations and know the stories behind them.
Evolution has long been the target of illogical arguments that use presumption.
Learn at least two classic ballroom dances, at least one of them Latin.
Be able to blow out a dinner candle without sending wax flying across the table.
Experts say you can't concentrate on more than one task at a time.
Understand why casinos and racetracks stay in business - the gambler always loses over the long term.
Be able to keep a secret or promise when you know in your heart that it is the right thing to do.
People who work crossword puzzles know that if they stop making progress, they should put the puzzle down for a while.
Know the function of a fuse box and the appearance of a tripped circuit breaker.
Be able to confide your innermost secrets to your mother and your innermost fears to your father.
Be able to cite three good qualities of every relative or acquaintance that you dislike.
Be able to describe anything visual, such as a street scene, in words that convey your meaning.
Be able to recognize the dangerous snakes, spiders, insects, and plants that live in your area of the country.
Be able to hiccup silently, or at least without alerting neighbors to your situation. The first hiccup is an exception.
Success is achieved by developing our strengths, not by eliminating our weaknesses.
When our spelling is perfect, it's invisible. But when it's flawed, it prompts strong negative associations.
Although spoken English doesn't obey the rules of written language, a person who doesn't know the rules thoroughly is at a great disadvantage.
Be in the habit of getting up bright and early on the weekends. Why waste such precious time in bed?
Know what to do if you feel faint or dizzy, especially if you might fall and hit your head.
Know which officials are voted into office and which are appointed, and by whom.
Be able to live alone, even if you don't want to and think you will never find it necessary.
Scientists and creationists are always at odds, of course.
Multi-tasking arises out of distraction itself.
Skill is successfully walking a tightrope between the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center. Intelligence is not trying.
Have enough sense to know, ahead of time, when your skills will not extend to wallpapering.
A person who learns to juggle six balls will be more skilled than the person who never tries to juggle more than three.
To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe.
A good idea will keep you awake during the morning, but a great idea will keep you awake during the night.
Be able to back up a car for a considerable distance in a straight line and back out of a driveway.
The chess player who develops the ability to play two dozen boards at a time will benefit from learning to compress his or her analysis into less time.
Be able to decline a date so gracefully that the person isn't embarrassed that he or she asked.