“To condescend effectively it is clearly necessary to adhere to a narrow definition of relevant data.”

“The art of effective listening is essential to clear communication, and clear communication is necessary to management success.”

“Scientists do not collect data randomly and utterly comprehensively. The data they collect are only those that they consider *relevant* to some hypothesis or theory.”

“In description words adhere to certain objects, and have the effect on the sense of oysters, or barnacles.”

“Our analyses of the FDA data showed relatively little difference between the effects of antidepressants and the effects of placebos. Indeed, the effects were so small that they did not qualify as clinically significant. The drug companies knew how small the effect of their medications were compared to placebos, and so did the FDA and other regulatory agencies. The companies found various ways to make the data seem more favorable to their products, and the FDA helped them keep their negative data secret. In fact, in some instances, the FDA urged the companies to keep negative data hidden, even when the companies wanted to reveal them. My colleagues and I hadn't really discovered anything new. We had merely revealed their 'dirty little secret'.”

“My own theory is that the spectacle of the homeless may be necessary to keep the rest of us on the straight and narrow...”