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1 " ...if I have learned any one thing over the years, it's that life contains too many variables for us to be absolutely certain about anything. In the last analysis, there is no accounting for the human factor. It is always easier to deal with things than with men, and no one can direct his life entirely as he would choose. "
― , Maiden Flight
2 " No matter what all your teeth and wet fingers anticipated, there was no accounting for the way that simple joy could shake you. "
― Toni Morrison , Beloved
3 " I smelled silt on the wind, turkey, laundry, leaves . . . my God what a world. There is no accounting for one second of it (267). "
― Annie Dillard , Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
4 " In those meetings, I learned that even economic diagrams needn’t be linear. Ours was a nest of concentric circles, and an enterprise was measured by its value to each circle, from the individual and family to the community and environment. I realized that Rebecca and her colleagues were trying to do nothing less than transform the System of National Accounts, the statistical framework here and in most countries for measuring economic activity. For instance, the value of a tree depends on its estimated value or sale price, but if it is sold and cut down, there is no accounting on the debit side of the ledger for loss of oxygen, seeding of other trees, or value to the community or the environment. This group was inventing a new way of measuring profit and loss. By the end of our days together, I understood economics in a whole new way. A balance sheet really could be about balance. "
― Gloria Steinem , My Life on the Road
5 " He has a very nice face and style, really," said Mrs. Kenwigs." He certainly has," added Miss Petowker. " There's something in his appearance quite--dear, dear, what's the word again?" " What word?" inquired Mr. Lillyvick." Why--dear me, how stupid I am!" replied Miss Petowker, hesitating. " What do you call it when lords break off doorknockers, and beat policemen, and play at coaches with other people's money, and all that sort of thing?" " Aristocratic?" suggested the collector." Ah! Aristocratic," replied Miss Petowker; " something very aristocratic about him, isn't there?" The gentlemen held their peace, and smiled at each other, as who should say, " Well! there's no accounting for tastes;" but the ladies resolved unanimously that Nicholas had an aristocratic air, and nobody caring to dispute the position, it was established triumphantly. "
6 " There’s no accounting for the opinions of old ladies. They think everyone is cute. "
― Shannon Wiersbitzky , What Flowers Remember
7 " It's really amazing that in the age of unbelief, as a smart man called it, there isn't even more fraud. After all, with no God, there's no one to ever call you to account, and no accounting at all if you can get away with it. "
