This is a quote from “Chris in the Morning” on KBHR radio. It’s from the famous Northern Exposure “Pi” episode, where Chris accidentally kills a dog of Amy, who is working on Pi for her dissertation. This quote is from the end of the episode, after Chris pushes his motorcycle to help make up for accidentally killing Amy’s dog, and then her bird:
“Recent events have set me to ponderin’ that ontological riddle: life, is it random, or is it systematic? Today I opted for the systematic approach, algebraic if you will, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Like most human beings, I’m just trying to make sense of things. I don’t know if I accomplished that ... I don’t know if anybody can. You know, Isaac Newton, he thought the universe functioned like ... like clockwork, like a well-oiled machine. That’s a comforting vision, it’s neat, orderly, predictable, but it’s a vision that’s pretty much been shot to pieces by relativity and quantum mechanics, all the other bugaboos of twentieth century physics. The universe is a weird place. We break our teeth developing theories and equations and systems, and where does it all leave us?”
(Quote from a book) “A system is like the tail of truth, but truth is like a lizard; it leaves its tail in your fingers and runs away knowing full well it will grow a new one in a twinkling.”
“I don’t know, what are you gonna do? Maybe next time I’ll get a Blockhead Harley, 1,340 cc’s. Anyone out there looking to unload one, give me a call, huh?”
