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Daily Archives: October 22, 2011

Chance Prefers A Prepared Mind

October 22, 2011
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Chance Prefers A Prepared Mind

Now for this week’s Contrary Opinion Button. Remember, you can always view all of the buttons by clicking here. Chance Prefers A Prepared Mind The original phrase, attributed to Louis Pasteur, was, “Dans les champs de l’observation, la chance ne sourit qu’aux esprits bien prepares.” Google’s translation software (reputedly the best) turns it into “In the fields of observation, luck smiles only prepared mind.” Cleaning it up, I make it, “In the fields of observation, fortune smiles only on the prepared mind.” Sadly, English translations have long used the word “favors,”(not “prefers”), when in fact Pasteur meant “smiles on,”...

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