Hyman Rickover Quotes

I am not an idiot, and I'm not a Pollyanna sort of kumbaya type.

I believe politicians should always remain realistic.

There's nothing particularly wrong with being more pessimistic than optimistic. Optimism is broad-based, non-detail-oriented thinking; pessimism is detail-oriented thinking.

Facts matter. Science matters. Reason matters. Mitt Romney has shown an inability to respect any of the three. President Barack Obama not only respects them, he relies on them. He is an overwhelming and unquestioned choice to continue as president.

Now, look, I - I like to look at evidence. I plead to that. I think evidence is important when you're making decisions that affect other people's lives.

I actually had someone say to me, 'Lynn, you're going to have very good days, and you're going to have very bad days. But It's rare that things are as good as they look, and it's rare that things are as bad as they seem.' So having perspective, and challenging perspective, is important to making good decisions.

We have an expression in New York City government - "In God we trust, but for everyone else, bring data." It's so easy to pick up a sound byte and say, "Oh, yeah, yeah, I believe that," without really thinking.

Don't confuse my point of view with cynicism. The real cynics are the ones who tell you that everything's gonna be all right.

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.

Perpetual optimism is annoying. It is a sign that you are not paying attention.

Rationality is not just something you do so that you can make more money, it is a binding principle. Rationality is a really good idea. You must avoid the nonsense that is conventional in one's own time. It requires developing systems of thought that improve your batting average over time.

I realize that after decades of positive thinking the notion of realism, of things as they are, may seem a little quaint. ... When the stakes are high enough and the risks obvious, we still turn to people who can be counted on to understand those risks and prepare for worst-case scenarios. A chief of state does not want to hear a general in the field say that he 'hopes' to win tomorrow's battle or that he's 'visualizing victory'.

Even when everything seems rotten you can't trust that judgment. It's the sum of all your judgments that counts.

Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There's no better rule.

Hopefully, Donald Trump's a very practical man.

I've always wanted to make the world a more rational place. I'm still working on it.

The good news is hopeful doesn't mean dumb. The bad news is cynical doesn't mean smart.

Cleave ever to the sunnier side of doubt.

Believe in miracles but don't depend on them.

I'm going to be a president who believes in science.

Reason has seldom failed us because it has seldom been tried.

Reason and calm judgment, the qualities specially belonging to a leader.

I will simply express my strong belief, that that point of self-education which consists in teaching the mind to resist its desires and inclinations, until they are proved to be right, is the most important of all, not only in things of natural philosophy, but in every department of dally life.

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

The great thing about fact-based decisions is that they overrule the hierarchy.