Julian Barnes Quotes

Truly successful decision-making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking.

Thinking. A process by which I use my brain to make a rational decision.

When you need to make a decision, don't let your emotions vote.

We can't avoid reasoning; we can only avoid doing it well.

No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical.

Mostly, I try to take a rational approach to life.

I always try to stay methodical and logical with everything I do, playing cricket and making decisions.

Italians think with their heads.

Logic is a wonderful thing but doesn't always beat actual thought.

There are two methods of human activity - and according to which one of these two kinds of activity people mainly follow, are there two kinds of people: One use their reason to learn what is good and what is bad and they act according to this knowledge; the other act as they want to and then they use their reason to prove that that which they did was good and that which they didn't do was bad.

I don't guess. I think. I ponder. I deduce. Then I decide. But I never guess.

Intelligence is to provide the facts to us. The facts will usually take you to the truth. And then, when we get the truth, we have got to make the decisions and do what's best for this country.

That's the way most everyone gets here. It's really quite simple: every time you decide something without having a good reason, you jump to Conclusions whether you like it or not. It's such an easy trip to make that I've been here hundreds of times.

There are those who reason well, but they are greatly outnumbered by those who reason badly.

We must rely less on spreadsheets and funding formulas and more on common sense.

I think people have common sense and can tell what's real, what's right or what's wrong and work it out.

Talk about rationality can get very confusing unless the things with which rationality deals are also included.

The concept of logical thinking is selection and this is brought about by the processes of acceptance and rejection. Rejection is the basis of logical thinking.

Mechanical rules are never a substitute for clarity of thought.

It's against reason," said Filby. "What reason?" said the Time Traveller.

Reason must be our last judge and guide in everything.

Of course, analysis can sometimes give more accurate results than intuition but usually it’s just a lot of work. I normally do what my intuition tells me to do. Most of the time spent thinking is just to double-check.

I'm supposed to be a scientific person but I use intuition more than logic in making basic decisions.

We seem to have trouble with [critical thinking]. And our political system doesn't help.

Thought is essentially practical in the sense that but for thought no motion would be an action, no change a progress.