Critical Evaluation Quotes

Criticism is a study by which men grow important and formidable at very small expense. The power of invention has been conferred by nature upon few, and the labour of learning those sciences which may, by mere labour, be obtained, is too great to be willingly endured; but every man can exert some judgment as he has upon the works of others; and he whom nature has made weak, and idleness keeps ignorant, may yet support his vanity by the name of critic.

What you applaud you encourage, but beware what you celebrate.

He [John Adams] is vain, irritable, and a bad calculator of the force and probable effect of the motives which govern men. That is all the ill that can be said of him.

Constantly seek criticism. A well thought out critique of what you're doing is as valuable as gold

I think you should always be seeking negative feedback.

We're not too out there to educate people about any specific thing necessarily so much as we are to encourage critical and scientific thinking.

To yield readily--easily--to the persuasion of a friend is no merit.... To yield without conviction is no compliment to the understanding of either.

Interpretation is the revenge of the intellect upon art. Even more. It is the revenge of the intellect upon the world. To interpret is to impoverish, to deplete the world -- in order to set up a shadow world of ''meanings.''

Art is always in the eyes of the beholder. Only posterity has the right to point out our mistakes.

It is possible in medicine, even when you intend to do good, to do harm instead. That is why science thrives on actively encouraging criticism rather than stifling it.

The audience is my hardest and best critic.

Actively seek out and listen carefully to negative feedback.

Pleasure is by no means an infallible critical guide, but it is the least fallible.

Fools have a habit of believing that everything written by a famous author is admirable. For my part I read only to please myself and like only what suits my taste.

...there ... remains a huge following [of Ayn Rand's philosophy] of those who ignore the indiscretions, infidelities, and moral inconsistencies of the founder and focus instead on the positive aspects of her philosophy. There is much in it to admire, if you do not have to accept the whole package... Criticism of the founder or followers of a philosophy does not, by itself, constitute a negation of any part of the philosophy... Criticism of part of a philosophy does not gainsay the whole.

You should not take your intuitions at face value.

The greatest folly is to accept expert statements uncritically. At the very least, we should always seek another opinion.

Reason is the test of ridicule, not ridicule the test of truth.

To accept anything on trust, to preclude critical application and development, is a grievous sin;

Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep thoughts can be winnowed from deep nonsense.

But what is criticism? Criticism is purely destructive; anyone can destroy, but not everyone can build up.

The advice of friends must be received with a judicious reserve; we must not give ourselves up to it and follow it blindly, whether right or wrong.

But I don't write a full capsule review of anything I haven't heard five times. It's usually closer to ten.

I've been reading reviews of my stories for twenty-five years, and can't remember a single useful point in any of them, or the slightest good advice. The only reviewer who ever made an impression on me was Skabichevsky, who prophesied that I would die drunk in the bottom of a ditch.

It is easy to criticize an author, but difficult to appreciate him.