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To err is human, but it feels divine. Mae West
The errors can’t be taken out of the observations. Jacob Bronowski, The Ascent of Man 11/13: Knowledge or Certainty ***** BBC 1973
For who can be secure of private right,
If sovereign sway may be dissolved by might?
Nor is the people’s judgement always true:
The most may err as grossly as the few. John Dryden, 1631-1700, Absalom and Achitophel
Any man can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error. Marcus Tullius Cicero
Which is it, is man one of God’s blunders or is God one of man’s? Friedrich Nietzsche
Woman was God’s second blunder. Friedrich Nietzsche, Der Antichrist, 1888
Irrationally held truths may be more harmful than reasoned errors. Thomas Henry Huxley, Science and Culture and Other Essays, 1881
An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody will see it. Mahatma Gandhi
Love truth, and pardon error. Voltaire
We are all full of weakness and errors; let us mutually pardon each other our follies – it is the first law of nature. Voltaire
The aim of science is not to open the door to infinite wisdom, but to set a limit to infinite error. Bertolt Brecht
There must be no barriers to freedom of inquiry ... There is no place for dogma in science. The scientist is free, and must be free to ask any question, to doubt any assertion, to seek for any evidence, to correct any errors. J Robert Oppenheimer
The history of science, like the history of all human ideas, is a history of irresponsible dreams, of obstinacy, and of error. But science is one of the very few human activities – perhaps the only one – in which errors are systematically criticized and fairly often, in time, corrected. This is why we can say that, in science, we often learn from our mistakes, and why we can speak clearly and sensibly about making progress there. Karl Popper, Conjectures and Refutations
That happens all the time. You know. Well, people make errors or jump at conclusions. You see, it’s so painful to write down all the details of a proof that at times you say, All right, this is obvious, and you go on. Usually that’s where the error lies. Professor Jean DieuDonne, French mathematician
I used to think information was destroyed in black hole. This was my biggest blunder, or at least my biggest blunder in science. Stephen Hawking
Human existence must be a kind of error. It may be said of it, it’s bad today, and every day will get worse until the worst of all happens. Arthur Schopenhauer
An intelligent person is never afraid or ashamed to find errors in his understanding of things. Bryant H McGill
It is one thing to show a man that he is in error, and another to put him in possession of truth. John Locke, An Essay concerning Human Understanding 1690
All men are liable to error; and most men are, in many points, by passion or interest, under temptation to it. ibid.
I know there’s a proverb which that says ‘To err is human’ but a human error is nothing to what a computer can do if it tries. Agatha Christie, Hallowe’en Party
It is the duty of every man, as far as his ability extends, to detect and expose delusion and error. Thomas Paine, An Essay on Dream
The most formidable weapon against errors of every kind is reason. Thomas Paine
I see no dignity in persevering in error. Robert Peel, House of Commons, 1833
Human blunders usually do more to shape history than human wickedness. A J P Taylor, The Origins of the Second World War, 1961
I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. Michael Jordan
To err is human; to forgive, divine. Alexander Pope
I do not secure me in the error,
But the main article I do approve. William Shakespeare, Othello I iii 10&11
The errors of a wise man make your rule
Rather than the perfections of a fool. William Blake
Any man worth his salt will stick up for what he believes right, but it takes a slightly better man to acknowledge instantly and without reservation that he is in error. Andrew Jackson
Unreasonable haste is the direct road to error. Moliere
I am indeed amazed when I consider how weak my mind is and how prone to error. Rene Descartes
To kill an error is as good a service as, and sometimes even better than, the establishing of a new truth or fact. Charles Darwin
Delay is preferable to error. Thomas Jefferson
To free a person from error is to give, and not to take away. Arthur Schopenhauer
Errors are not in the art but in the artificers. Isaac Newton
Generally speaking, the errors in religion are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous. David Hume
Man approaches the unattainable truth through a succession of errors. Aldous Huxley
Errors of taste are very often the outward sign of a deep fault of sensibility. Jonathan Miller
Errors using inadequate data are much less than those using no data at all. Charles Babbage
Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing than he who believes what is wrong. Thomas Jefferson
There are sadistic scientists who hurry to hunt down errors instead of establishing the truth. Marie Curie
The fact is, over the past few months, I have been responsible for a series of small errors in the carrying out of my duties. I should say that these errors have all been without exception quite trivial in themselves. Nevertheless, I think you will understand that to one not accustomed to committing such errors, this development was rather disturbing, and I did in fact begin to entertain all sorts of alarmist theories as to their cause. Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day
Comedy is an imitation of the common errors of our life. Philip Sidney, The Defence of Poetry