books – My Geek Wisdom

“As you wish.”

From: The Princess Bride

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Carl Denham

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote is, once again, from Vida! Two in a row! Many thanks, Vida! Keep them coming!

The quote comes from the incredibly popular film adaption of the book, The Princess Bride. While the film was a modest success when it came out in 1987, it only really gained success when it came out in home video. Even so, it’s not hard to see why the film was so popular as it was a children’s adventure film with enough wit and whimsy for an adult to enjoy.

The quote is actually kind of a catchphrase for Westley, played by Cary Elwes. In the film, Westley starts out as a simple farm boy in love with Buttercup, played by Robin Wright. Whatever Buttercup orders Westley to do, he does it and only says the quote. This does become important in the middle of the story after Westley’s ship is attacked by the Dread Pirate Roberts and is lost at sea, leaving Buttercup to think Westley has perished. However, she realizes her mistake when she herself comes face to face with the Dread Pirate Roberts.

Fun fact: In the book, Buttercut actually doesn’t figure out what Westley means by “as you wish” as she’s a little bit dim in the original work.

Geek wisdom: Now, let me quote Vida regarding the specific geek wisdom from this beautiful quote…

“Westley is expressing his unconditional love for Buttercup, showing that whatever hardships or obstacles, True Love always endures and triumphs. The geek wisdom here is having faith in the power of love, and that love is eternal whether the person is here or across the seas on a pirate ship or in the afterlife. “As you wish” is the absence of ego and the need to be first in a relationship, and says the other personʻs happiness is as important as your own. “

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

From: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows

Genre: Movies/Books

Who said it?: Dumbledore… sort of.

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote was submitted by Vida. We over here are MyGeekWisdom highly appreciate helping out! I’ll actually be quoting Vida for the most part…

“Harry went into the forest to meet death at the hands of Voldemort and has awakened to find himself at “Kingʻs Cross” station with Dumbledore instead. This quote occurs after their discussion about recent events and the Elder Wand, with Harry deciding to return to the forest to help his friends defeat the Death Eaters and Voldemort. Harry asks if their conversation is real or only happening in his head…and this is Dumbledoreʻs reply.”

The quote is also given in the film adaption of the book. However, the line is a little bit different…

Geek wisdom: “What I find comical and appealing about this quote is how often Dumbledoreʻs views about life can seem quirky and eccentric to most of the other characters. Ron calls him “mad” (in a good way of course). But when one unpacks Dumbledoreʻs statements, there is usually some deeper logic or no logic at all, only Dumbledore highlighting the many paradoxes of life.”

Another way to think of the quote is that, just because something is imaginary or you just conjured it up in your noggin, that doesn’t mean that it can’t have meaning.

“Michael Jordan plays ball. Charles Manson kills people. I talk. — Everyone has a talent.”

From: Thank You for Smoking

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Nick Naylor

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the dark comedy Thank You for Smoking. The film is based on the book of the same name. Both the book and the movie focuses on Nick Naylor, a suave lobbyist for Big Tobacco, who goes above and beyond the call of duty to perpetrate the notion that smoking can cause lung cancer.

The quote comes from the very end of the film. Naylor (played by Aaron Eckhart) has started his own lobbying firm. He meets up with cellphone manufacturers and tells them what to say when asked if cell phone radiation can cause brain cancer. He then turns to the audience and, in a voice over, delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: Each and every one of us has a special skill that we can all utilize. Sometimes, however, it will take a lot of hard work to find what your talent is. And sometimes, the talent that you have may even prove to be distasteful to others. That’s not the point. The point is that everyone is going to be good at something; it’s all about finding out what it is and what you do with that talent.

“Now imagine she’s white.”

From: A Time To Kill

Genre: Movies/Books

Who said it?: Jake Brigance

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the film A Time to Kill, which is based on the John Grisham book of the same name. The film and the book is the tale of Jake Brigance, a white attorney who was hired to defend Carl Lee Hailey, a black man who shot and killed two men who raped his daughter.

The quote comes from the very end of the film. Jake Brigance (played by Matthew McConaughey) tells the jury to close their eyes while he narrates the horrors Carl Lee Hailey’s daughter had to endure during her rape. He describes every thing in brutal detail and he asks the jury if they can see the little girl in their minds. This is when the lawyer delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: We tend to have a bias on how similar things are to what we are. This is generally normal but this is also the root of many prejudices around the world. However, when we really get down to things, we are all the same because we are all human beings and should be treated as equals.

Any form of persecution, prejudice and discrimination is wrong.

“The town was paper, but the memories were not.”

From: Paper Towns

Genre: Movies/Books

Who said it?: Quentin “Q” Jacobson

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote was submitted by Hazel Lance! Thanks, Hazel! You can check out her other written stuff by checking out her WordPress blogsite (poeticfangirl.wordpress.com)!

The quote comes from the book Paper Towns by John Green, the author that gave us The Fault in Our Stars. And, like The Fault in Our Stars, Paper Towns is going to be made into a feature length film.

Fair warning: the quote and Geek Wisdom may contain SPOILERS for the upcoming film.

Anyway, Paper Towns is all about Quentin Jacobson, Q to his friends, who has a massive crush on his next door neighbor, Margo Roth Spiegelman. After being ignored by her throughout high school, Q is surprised to see Margo ask for his help in getting revenge on her ex-boyfriend for cheating on her. The next day, Q finds out that Margo is now missing and Q believes he is the only one who can find her.

The quote comes as Q’s graduation date draws near. He realizes that, although, the people around him were indeed materialistic and “unreal, he still treasures the memories he has with them. This is precisely why graduating makes him feel a little sad.

Geek wisdom: We come across a lot of people who end up being someone different from what we thought they were. These people may have been selfish and never cared much about us, but the memories would always bring a smile to our face because we were genuinely happy in that moment.

“The answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything is 42.”

From: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Genre: Books, Movies, Television

Who said it?: Deep Thought

The story behind the quote: This is actually my first “book” and “radio” categories entry, but I am cheating a bit here since I’m getting it from the latest movie adapted from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. The overall story follows Arthur Dent, an ordinary man who survives the destruction of the Earth with Ford Prefect (an alien in disguise) and goes off to have different adventures.

The quote comes from a scene early in the story. Aliens created a supercomputer named Deep Thought and ask it to answer the question of life, the universe and everything. Deep Thought mentions that it would take seven and a half million years to get the Ultimate Answer.

So, seven and a half million years pass. The aliens (their ancestors anyway) come back to Deep Thought to get the answer. Deep Thought gives his reply that the answer is 42. The aliens complain that the answer cannot be correct. Deep Thought then says that he cannot give an answer since the aliens don’t know what the question actually is. The computer does say that another computer, even more powerful than itself, will be able to know what the Ultimate Question is.

SPOILER: The computer more powerful than Deep Thought is actually the Earth.

Geek wisdom: The “meaning of life” question is meaningless since the answer is, and always be, something different for each person. The reason being is that the question is also going to be different for each person. Deep Thought felt that it was a perfectly legitimate answer since, for him, it made sense. For others, it was rubbish. That’s because the Ultimate Question is different for each and every one of them.

When we ask ourselves “what is the meaning of life” we are actually asking how we personally think what we want in life. If you ask ourselves the Ultimate Question and we cannot find what the Ultimate Answer is within ourselves, then you may not know what direction your life is going. If you are able to answer it, then you have already found your purpose in life.