“What a knot of history one mistake can become.”

“History's got no bows on it, only frayed ends of ribbons and knots that can't be untied.”

“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.”

“If one cannot learn from the mistakes of others, one might as well become a Democrat.”

“With knot of one, the spell's begun.With knot of two, the spell be true.With knot of three, the spell is free.With knot of four, the power is stored.With knot of five, the spell with thrive.With knot of six, this spell I fix.”

“One should learn the lessons of history. The mistakes of the past need only be made once. Unless there are no other choices. ~ Bayaz”