Marilyn vos Savant is a writer. She wrote the "Ask Marilyn" question-and-answer column for Parade magazine from 1986 through 2023, when it ceased publication.
New York City
Joined March 2009
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There are far more ways to do something wrong than to do it right. This alone could account for the amazing number of laws passed in Congress.
Sometimes I’ve looked back at my behavior and learned not to make the same mistake twice. Other times, I’ve just learned to make it again with more style.
What you sometimes mistake for a person who takes criticism well is simply a person who is convinced that you’re dead wrong and not worth correcting.
To me, Alexa, now a chatbox, sounds like an overcaffeinated tween. I asked, “What’s tomorrow’s forecast?” The high-pitched reply: “Tomorrow’s looking pretty sweet!” So I told her to stop sounding so ditzy. Then I asked her to turn off the bedroom lights. The reply? “Very well.”
The truth is that opportunity doesn’t knock. And if you don’t have a big name, it won’t even take your call.
For me, there’s nothing quite as exhausting as taking a vacation. And we often spend a huge sum to make it happen. I sometimes wonder if the main reason is to take photos to post for our friends, actually acts of aggression they must pretend to enjoy.
I see why the French words “blonde” and “brunette” have remained alongside the all-American term “redhead.” No one wants to be called a whitehead or a blackhead.
How can you predict the behavior of the stock market when you can’t even predict the behavior of your kids?
The difference between an autobiography and an unauthorized biography is like the difference between an account of your life written by your mother and one written by your mother-in-law.
Hmm. “If u can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it.” Are these OK? methylbutanal; fructooligosaccharides; gallocatechins; isoamyl acetate; L-isoleucine; p-coumaric acid; phosphatidylethanolamines; raffinose oligosaccharides; shikimic acid; trans-2-hexenal. If not, u won’t eat a banana.
We should realize the word “progress” doesn’t mean positive change. Rather, it describes growth of a thing that exists. An unchecked disease “progresses.” So does a technology. When an entity profits from a change, it will happen, whether for ultimate good or harm for most of us.
Times change. I remember when one woman would turn to another, who was wearing a fabulous necklace over an abundant bosom, and ask, “Are those real?” And she meant the 𝙟𝙚𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙨.
The less money you have, the more you’ll find you like your relatives. And the 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 money you have, the more you’ll find your relatives like 𝙮𝙤𝙪.
Aspire to go as far as your greatest strengths will take you, but realize that you'll get no farther than your greatest weaknesses will allow.
What Timothée Chalamet may not see is that the root appeal of opera and ballet is glorious music, and for many decades now, no one has been composing anything even remotely near the magnificent work of the distant past. Modern compositions are utterly laughable by comparison.
After the Super Bowl Ring ad debacle, we’ve been assured that owners of devices with video technology (not just Ring) can simply choose their privacy option. But what if that option is removed by law in the name of public safety? Then what if all houses are required to have them?
When a man sends a huge bouquet of flowers to a woman, it usually means either that he’s fallen in love or that he’s done something regrettable. In the case of certain women, however, that’s the same thing.