Top 120 Marilyn Vos Savant Quotes (2024 Update)
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51. “I believe a ‘talented’ person is one who has learned how to effectively cultivate and polish any of the many desirable capabilities with which most of us are born but few of us nurture.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

52. “Be able to decline a date so gracefully that the person isn’t embarrassed that he or she asked.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

53. “Everybody loves an accent. It you’ve been unlucky in love, consider pulling up stakes and moving to another country. Then you’ll be the one with a neat foreign accent.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

54. “Know how to behave at a buffet. Take a clean plate for a second helping.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

55. “Scientists and creationists are always at odds, of course.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

56. “Learn at least two classic ballroom dances, at least one of them Latin.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

57. “A good leader needs to stand behind his or her followers as often as he or she needs to stand in front of them.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

58. “Society needs people who can manage projects in addition to handling individual tasks.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

59. “When you’re in a good mood, bring up the past. When you’re in a bad mood, stick to the present. And when you’re not feeling emotional at all, it’s time to talk about the future.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

60. “Just because you’re unemployed doesn’t mean you’re not doing anything useful. You are, for example, at least keeping your mother-in-law’s wit sharp.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

61. “A fool is someone whose pencil wears out before its eraser does.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

62. “I think change is possible, but only for individuals who were never truly gay in the first place and who have a strong personal motivation to recover their heterosexuality.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

63. “Be in the habit of getting up bright and early on the weekends. Why waste such precious time in bed?”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

64. “I’ve never found an interesting person with a foul mouth.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

65. “I believe that love – not imitation – is the sincerest form of flattery. Your imitator thinks that you can be duplicated; your lover knows you can’t.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

66. “I believe that one becomes stronger emotionally by taking life less personally. If your employer criticizes your report, don’t take it personally. Instead, find out what’s needed and fix it. If your girlfriend laughs at your tie, don’t take it personally. Find another tie or find another girlfriend.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

67. “The chess player who develops the ability to play two dozen boards at a time will benefit from learning to compress his or her analysis into less time.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

68. “Be able to correctly pronounce the words you would like to speak and have excellent spoken grammar.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

69. “Know why certain foods, such as truffles, are expensive. It’s not because they taste best.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

70. “Be able to describe anything visual, such as a street scene, in words that convey your meaning.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

71. “Loving behavior contributes to the group at the expense of the individual. Competition contributes to the survival of the individual at the expense of the group. In the garden of life, some people are more like flowers, and other people are more like weeds.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

72. “One cannot inherit a talent for the violin – there are no violins in nature. Instead, one must be motivated, able to benefit from practice, and persevering.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

73. “Understand why casinos and racetracks stay in business – the gambler always loses over the long term.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

74. “Ultimately, our future is like a mirror. Whenever we face it, it always reflects what we left behind.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

75. “Know how to treat frostbite until you can get indoors.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

76. “At first, I only laughed at myself. Then I noticed that life itself is amusing. I’ve been in a generally good mood ever since.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

77. “Stop asking for directions so much. Assuming that you’re in a safe environment, pay attention and figure things out for yourself. Have the nerve to take a wrong turn now and then. You’ll develop better working instincts and have more self-esteem too.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

78. “The 40s are when you start trading your psychological problems for physical ones.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

79. “Know the difference between principles based on right or wrong vs. principles based on personal gain, and consider the basis of your own principles.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

80. “Be able to notice all the confusion between fact and opinion that appears in the news.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

81. “Have you ever noticed that when you must struggle to hear something, you close your eyes?”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

82. “Be able to identify the most common breeds of dogs and cats on sight.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

83. “Know how to garnish food so that it is more appealing to the eye and even more flavorful than before.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

84. “No one would choose to be jerked randomly off task again and again until you have half a dozen things you’re trying to get done, all at the same time.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

85. “You’re who you think you are, even if you never admit it to yourself or to anyone else. You may be in the worst position to judge, but you’re in the best position to know.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

86. “Be able to cite three good qualities of every relative or acquaintance that you dislike.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

87. “Know the official post office abbreviations for all 50 states without having to consult a list.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

88. “Know how to travel from your town to a nearby town without a car, either by bus or by rail.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

89. “Know how to behave at a fine restaurant, which is a telltale measure of social maturity.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

90. “Be able to go shopping for a bathing suit and not become depressed afterward.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

91. “Be able to read blueprints, diagrams, floorplans, and other diagrams used in the construction process.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

92. “Be able to keep a secret or promise when you know in your heart that it is the right thing to do.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

93. “One of the few articles of clothing that a man won’t try to remove from a woman is an apron.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

94. “Know how and how much to tip people who expect gratuities, even in the case of poor service.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

95. “Know how to drive safely when it’s raining or when it’s snowing. The two conditions are different.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

96. “While you’re writing, you can’t concentrate nearly as well on what the speaker is saying.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

97. “Know what happens when an individual declares bankruptcy and how it affects his or her life.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

98. “Know how weather, especially humidity, can affect the movement of doors and windows.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

99. “A person who learns to juggle six balls will be more skilled than the person who never tries to juggle more than three.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant

100. “The difference between talking on your cell phone while driving and speaking with a passenger is huge. The person on the other end of the cell phone is chattering away, oblivious.”

— Marilyn Vos Savant