It is plausible, if not inevitable, that we are more aware of the pain we suffer at the hands of others than of the pain that others suffer by our hands.

— Joshua D. Greene, Moral Tribes

Zen is like a man hanging in a tree by his teeth over a precipice. His hands grasp no branch, his feet rest on no limb, and under the tree another person asks him: “Why did Bodhidharma come to China from India?” if the man in the tree does not answer, he fails; and if he does answer, he falls and loses his life. Now what shall he do?

— The Mind’s I, Douglas R Hofstadter and Daniel C. Dennett

…schools often do not allow children to be creative and exporative, but demand rote learning and discipline. All these things actively destroy curiosity in HG children. … It is not surprising to me that ADHD rates are soaring under such conditions.

— Andreas Hofer and Adrienn Raczi, Born Different

just as the blowing winds preserve the sea from stagnation, so also stagnation in peoples would be the product of prolonged, let alone absolute peace

— Georg Wilhelm Fredrich Hegel, Elements of the Philosophy of Right

Except for a few natural catastrophes, every great woe has been driven by a stupidity.

— Eliezer Yudkowsky, How to Actually Change Your Mind