When I was fourteen years old, I was amazed at how unintelligent my father was. By the time I turned twenty-one, I was astounded how much he had learned in the last seven years.
Free speech is not to be regulated like diseased cattle and impure butter. The audience that hissed yesterday may applaud today, even for the same performance.
The people who are right a lot often change their minds.
When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.
The job of campaigning is to change minds.
When you're young, you look at television and think, there's a conspiracy. The networks have conspired to dumb us down. But when you get a little older, you realize that's not true. The networks are in business to give people exactly what they want.
Every succeeding scientific discovery makes greater nonsense of old-time conceptions of sovereignty.
Public opinion is an extremely mutable thing
The thing is, I was always a republican, but I have to say I've become completely obsessed with the Queen.
When I was younger, I took life much more seriously.
People thought I was very pro-computer. I was on the cover of 'Wired' magazine. Then things began to change. In the early '80s, we met this technology and became smitten like young lovers. But today our attachment is unhealthy.
People have been very quick to judge young black players on their lifestyles and then when they go on to win the World Cup, to take league titles or score goals they're all of a sudden changed men. They haven't changed, people are just choosing to see them in a different way.
When once married people begin to attack me with, 'Oh! you will think very differently, when you are married,' I can only say, 'No I shall not'; and then they say again, 'Yes you will,' and there is an end to it.
When I was young, I would drive so fast. Now I see it a different way.
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day.
In order to learn, one must change one's mind.
When I hear a man applauded by the mob I always feel a pang of pity for him. All he has to do to be hissed is to live long enough.
Predominant opinions are generally the opinions of the generation that is vanishing.
1st Earl of Beaconsfield
There are a lot of people holding on to the old Jessie J - whatever that means - but I think there's a lot more people realizing what I'm about. I think people like it.
The doctors are always changing their opinions. They always have some new fad.
1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor
Recently I read the stories I wrote in my early 20s, to put in a volume. And here is this brittle young woman, writing about marriage as, not the worst thing, but the most boring thing that could happen to a person. Now I think I was wrong. I like to be proven wrong.
I think especially in such an unstable economic environment, what people criticized him [Mitt Romney] for in 2008 his consistency, the fact that he was so strong, and I think people will find that appealing going into the 2012. That’s one of the things that I like about him — because he’s been consistent since he changed his mind.
I think that more and more you're going to see people of good will on their side of the aisle say you know what, we got to get off the bus here, this is not headed in the right direction.
Well, a general danger of punditry is that there's very little incentive to change your position or admit error. If you reverse your position, the people who backed you before will be unhappy, but a lot of the people who now agree with you will still pillory you.
If science proves facts that conflict with Buddhist understanding, Buddhism must change accordingly. We should always adopt a view that accords with the facts.