Harold Evans Quotes

I think what's always important is not to be contrarian for its own sake but to really get at the truth.

Nothing energizes me more than to burrow myself under a pile of received wisdom and emerge triumphant with the truth.

Mental fight means thinking against the current, not with it. It is our business to puncture gas bags and discover the seeds of truth.

You must accept the truth from whatever source it comes.

It's really important, whether you're a conservative or a liberal, to always challenge the conventional wisdom, which is what I've tried to do in all my work.

Be not astonished at new ideas; for it is well known to you that a thing does not therefore cease to be true because it is not accepted by many.

Scepticism is a necessary and vital part of the journalist's toolkit. But when scepticism becomes cynicism it can close off thought and block the search for truth.

If we bring not the good courage of minds covetous of truth, and truth only, prepared to hear all things, and decide upon all things, according to evidence, we should do more wisely to sit down contented in ignorance, than to bestir ourselves only to reap disappointment.

Just because something doesn't confirm your existing beliefs does not mean it's a hoax.

As a general rule, if you want to get at the truth - hear both sides and believe neither.

See, I have no journalism in my background, so I wasn't practised at research or writing non-fiction, nor at handling the truth in a journalistic way. Journalists know when to call a halt and write something, but I kept on looking for answers.

Seek truth from facts.

We must always think about things, and we must think about things as they are, not as they are said to be.

Clarity and consistency are not enough: the quest for truth requires humility and effort.

If you shut the door to all errors, truth will be shut out.

The most useful piece of learning for the uses of life is to unlearn what is untrue.

The interesting thing is always to see if you can find a fact that will change your mind about something, to test and see if you can.

A lot of journalism wants to have what they call objectivity without them having a commitment to pursuing the truth, but that doesn't work. Objectivity requires belief in and a commitment toward pursuing the truth - having an object outside of our personal point of view.

There's no question that sources sometimes have interests aside from the truth when they talk to reporters. That's why reporters have to very aggressively report against their own theses and against their initial information.

Let the winds of evidence blow you about as though you are a leaf, with no direction of your own. Beware lest you fight a rearguard retreat against the evidence, grudgingly conceding each foot of ground only when forced, feeling cheated. Surrender to the truth as quickly as you can.

Skeptics question the validity of a particular claim by calling for evidence to prove or disprove it.

An audience shouldn't listen with complacency.

As scientists, we need to not be afraid of the truth.

In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves.

Rough work, iconoclasm, but the only way to get at truth.