Terry Pratchett

Today I'm going to break from my usual topic of life in China to pay homage to one of my favorite authors, Terry Pratchett, who died this week. If you haven't had the pleasure of reading one of his books, I urge you to pick one up. Some of my favorites are Mort, Thief of Time, Witches Abroad, and The Wee Free Men. Here are just a few quotes that I particularly enjoy:

"In the beginning there was nothing, which exploded."

"They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance."

"Look, that's why there's rules, understand? So that you think before you break 'em."

"I'll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there's evidence of any thinking going on inside it."

"HUMAN BEINGS MAKE LIFE SO INTERESTING. DO YOU KNOW, THAT IN A UNIVERSE FULL OF WONDERS, THEY HAVE MANAGED TO INVENT BOREDOM."

" 'Zoology, eh? That's a big word, isn't it.' 'No, actually it isn't,' said Tiffany. 'Patronizing is a big word. Zoology is really quite short.' "

“She was already learning that if you ignore the rules people will, half the time, quietly rewrite them so that they don't apply to you.”

"The duke had a mind that ticked like a clock and, like a clock, it regularly went cuckoo."

"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."

“Just because you can explain it doesn't mean it's not still a miracle.”

"Wisdom comes from experience. Experience is often a result of lack of wisdom."