Attribute

Famous quotes containing the word attribute:

    Long before Einstein told us that matter is energy, Machiavelli and Hobbes and other modern political philosophers defined man as a lump of matter whose most politically relevant attribute is a form of energy called “self-interestedness.” This was not a portrait of man “warts and all.” It was all wart.
    George F. Will (b. 1941)

    Much attribute he hath, and much the reason
    Why we ascribe it to him; yet all his virtues,
    Not virtuously of his own part beheld,
    Do in our eyes begin to lose their gloss,
    Yea, like fair fruit in an unwholesome dish,
    Are like to rot untasted.
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

    Girls tend to attribute their failures to factors such as lack of ability, while boys tend to attribute failure to specific factors, including teachers’ attitudes. Moreover, girls avoid situations in which failure is likely, whereas boys approach such situations as a challenge, indicating that failure differentially affects self-esteem.
    Michael Lewis (late–20th-century)