---
title: "2 Messy Quotes By Virginia Postrel"
description: "2 Messy quotes by Virginia Postrel. Plus more from Virginia Postrel and more Messy sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/860/virginia-postrel-2867_far_the-history-of-the-internet-is-not-as-so_1884532.jpg"
---

> [The history of the Internet is not, as some people have tried to make it, a libertarian just-so story. It is a messy tale in which the government played a significant role. That role was, however, far more subtle than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/the-history-of-the-internet-is-not-as-some-people-have-tried-to-make/)

[Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/860/virginia-postrel-2867_far_the-history-of-the-internet-is-not-as-so_1884532.jpg)

> [The innovative process is a fragile one, dependent on a complex, often messy interplay of imagination, competition, and exchange. Curbing new ideas hurts not only individual creators but the audience for which they create and the posterity that inherits their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/the-innovative-process-is-a-fragile-one-dependent-on-a-complex-often/)

[Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00c/virginia-postrel-2867_audience_the-innovative-process-is-a-fragile-one_2833108.jpg)

## More by Virginia Postrel

> [The low point for neon came in 1982, when Holiday Inn did away with its signature 'Great Sign,' replacing the neon extravaganza with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/the-low-point-for-neon-came-in-1982-when-holiday-inn-did-away-with/)

[Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/)

> ['The Matrix' is a movie that is all about glamour. I could do a whole talk on 'The Matrix' and glamour. It was criticized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/the-matrix-is-a-movie-that-is-all-about-glamour-i-could-do-a-whole/)

[Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/)

> [Science is about exploring the unknown and cannot offer guarantees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/science-is-about-exploring-the-unknown-and-cannot-offer-guarantees/)

[Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/)

> [“Design is not style. It’s not about giving shape to the shell and not giving a damn about the guts. Good design is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/design-is-not-style-it-s-not-about-giving-shape-to-the-shell-and-not/)

[Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/)

> [Persuasion has become a kind of force. The more the advertiser knows about what consumers want, and the more desires the product and packaging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/persuasion-has-become-a-kind-of-force-the-more-the-advertiser-knows/)

[Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/)

> [When credit is cheaper to use and easier to arrange, people do use more of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/when-credit-is-cheaper-to-use-and-easier-to-arrange-people-do-use/)

[Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/)

> [Glamour is a beautiful illusion - the word 'glamour' originally meant a literal magic spell - that promises to transcend ordinary life and make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/glamour-is-a-beautiful-illusion-the-word-glamour-originally-meant-a/)

[Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/)

> [A standard 'well woman' checkup can last as little as 10 minutes, hardly time for any in-depth discussions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/a-standard-well-woman-checkup-can-last-as-little-as-10-minutes-hardly/)

[Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/)

> [When I was in college, I wanted to be editor of 'Reason' when I grew up. It was an impractical ambition, especially since the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/when-i-was-in-college-i-wanted-to-be-editor-of-reason-when-i-grew-up/)

[Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/)

> [A lot of consumers actively enjoy advertising, especially fashion print ads and clever TV commercials. The nostalgic cable channel TVLand features not only vintage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/a-lot-of-consumers-actively-enjoy-advertising-especially-fashion/)

[Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/)

> [“Functionality still matters, of course. But competition has pushed quality so high and prices so low that many manufacturers can no longer distinguish themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/functionality-still-matters-of-course-but-competition-has-pushed/)

[Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/)

> [Like the skyscraper, the automobile, and the motion-picture palace, neon signs once symbolized popular hopes for a new era of technological achievement and commercial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/like-the-skyscraper-the-automobile-and-the-motion-picture-palace-neon/)

[Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/)

> [When 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' premiered on the WB Network in 1996, American culture was in trouble. Americans were bowling alone, pursuing individual interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/when-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-premiered-on-the-wb-network-in-1996/)

[Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/)

> [The glamour of air travel - its aspirational meaning in the public imagination - disappeared before its luxury did, dissipating as flying gradually became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/the-glamour-of-air-travel-its-aspirational-meaning-in-the-public/)

[Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/)

> [Behind the criticism of fashion as an artistic medium is a highly ideological prejudice: against markets, against consumers, against the dynamism of Western commercial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/behind-the-criticism-of-fashion-as-an-artistic-medium-is-a-highly/)

[Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/)

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