"Apocalyptic predictions require, to be taken seriously, higher standards of evidence than do assertions on other matters where the stakes are not as great."
--Carl Sagan, Foreign Affairs Winter 1983-84
The Jesuits are said to have a guiding motto "give me a child until he is nine and he will be mine for life". The point being that the fundamental assumptions and prejudices of the man are forged in the crucible of childhood, hand fed, as it were. They are not the product of careful observation and reasoning, but rather dribble into the psyche of the child, and thus shape the man. Once set, they are very difficult to remove.
- Wednesday, February 2, 2011