Merit Assessment Quotes

There is no test of literary merit except survival, which is itself an index to majority opinion.

Ruin looks us in the face if we judge a man by his position instead of judging him by his conduct in that position.

An award doesn't necessarily make you a better actor.

I have been obsequious toward Western civilization, exaggerating its merits and, at the same time, exaggerating my own merits.

For me right now I think being the world number one is a bigger deal than being the world champion because I think it shows better who plays the best chess. That sounds self-serving but I think it's also right.

The idea that talent is directly proportional to your trophy cabinet is one I oppose.

Look at who people are elevating and deifying in the public eye, and ask yourself what those people have done to receive such lauding and what it is they haven't. When you look at that you say, okay, are these people being revered for something of merit, or are they completely hallow? Or even worse, are they being revered for something that is actually destructive?

There is no need to worry about mere size. We do not necessarily respect a fat man more than a thin man. Sir Isaac Newton was very much smaller than a hippopotamus, but we do not on that account value him less.

Some people are academically inclined, some vocationally and we shouldn't penalise the latter.

He that writes may be considered as a kind of general challenger, whom every one has a right to attack; since he quits the common rank of life, steps forward beyond the lists, and offers his merit to the public judgement. To commence author is to claim praise, and no man can justly aspire to honour, but at the hazard of disgrace.

I'm a good judge of my own work.

You should not consider a man's age but his acts.

Self-love increases or diminishes for us the good qualities of our friends, in proportion to the satisfaction we feel with them; and we judge of their merit by the manner in which they act towards us.

When screening engineers from other companies, its smart to value engineers from great companies more than those from mediocre companies.

Since I have difficulty defining merit and what merit alone means - and in any context, whether it's judicial or otherwise - I accept that different experiences in and of itself, bring merit to the system.

At the outstart of discussions of women's intellectual attainments, it is well to remember how few are the men of the first rank.

A man's college and university degrees mean nothing to me until I see what he is able to do with them.

I judge each person on individual merits.

If your ideas are good they rise, and if they're a bit crap they sink.

As long as you are winning, everything is fine, and you lose a game, and all hell breaks loose. That is grossly unfair. We should not overlook someone's past achievements just because he is going through a bad patch.

The difference in being a good soldier and actor is that in the Air Force, you see results, and our worth is defined by numbers. As an actor, your results are based on other people's opinions.

If one wants to measure oneself by the facile accruement of awards, then I've done very well.

It's possible to fund companies for $100,000 and find out rather quickly whether or not the idea they are pursuing has merit. Scientists now work much faster.

Mass appreciation doesn't always equate to something good.

Don't confuse luck with skill when judging others, and especially when judging yourself.