David Mitchell Quotes

There are no inevitabilities in history

History abhors determinism but cannot tolerate chance.

History throws you what it throws you, and you never know what’s coming.

I can see ... only one safe rule for the historian: that he should recognize in the development of human destinies the play of the contingent and the unforeseen.

History portrays everything as if it could not have come otherwise. History is on the side of what happened.

History shows you don't know what the future brings.

It is nearly always the most improbable things that really come to pass.

History shows us that people are terrible about guessing what is going to happen - next week, next month, and especially next year.

Do yourself a favor. Don't ever say to me, 'Everything happens for a reason.'

Life to me is defined by uncertainty. Uncertainty is the state in which we live, and there is no way to outfox it.

Fate, or some mysterious force, can put the finger on you or me, for no good reason at all.

We can't control what the ratings will be. It's like, if you're going to go skiing, do you hope you'll have a good day of skiing? Yes. Do you hope you won't break your leg? Yes.

Sometimes history takes things into its own hands.

You never know what's going to happen and when it's going to happen.

The Ball no question makes of Ayes and Noes, But Here or There as strikes the Player goes.

The worst possible turn can not be programmed. It is caused by coincidence.

Nothing is inevitable until it happens.

Doing what's right is no guarantee against misfortune.

There's only so much you can control in life.

Everything that happens is meant to be. It's meant to happen like that. But sometimes you don't know at the time that it's meant to be disaster.

Chance is a word void of sense; nothing can exist without a cause.

Success and failure are equally surprising.

The events of war are subject to great uncertainty.

History is totally unpredictable.

How fragile and unpredictable the course of history is.