16 Quotes by Charles Seife

See appendix A for a proof that Winston Churchill was a carrot.

Particles are constantly winking in and out of existence, like tiny Cheshire cats.

If you want to convince the world that a fish can sense your emotions, only one statistical measure will suffice: the p-value.

Zero is powerful because it is infinity’s twin. They are equal and opposite, yin and yang.

This is the definition of the infinite: it is something that can stay the same size even when you subtract from it.

The infinite zero of a black hole-mass crammed into zero space, curving space infinitely-punches a hole in the smooth rubber sheet. The equations of general relativity cannot deal with the sharpness of zero. In a black hole, space and time are meaningless.

Not only does the media fail to challenge our preconceptions – instead reinforcing them as media outlets try to cater to smaller audiences – but we all are able to find small groups of people who share and fortify the beliefs we have, no matter how quirky or outright wrong they might be. Ironically, all this interconnection is isolating us. We are becoming solipsists, trapped in worlds of our own creation.

With news and data that is tailored to our prejudices, we deprive ourselves of true information. We wind up wallowing in our own false ideas, reflected back at us by the media. The news is ceasing to be a window unto the world; it is becoming a mirror that allows us to gaze only upon our own beliefs.

If you want to get people to believe something really, really stupid, just stick a number on it.