I ask you to consider three medical miracles we take for granted: X-rays, cardiac catheterization, and general anesthesia. I contend all three would be stillborn if we tried to deliver them in 2005.

— Steven Pinker, Enlightenment Now

There is a point where cynicism is so high, no single first step will ever provide enough value to prove the project will work.

— Marianne Bellotti, Kill It With Fire

Kindly consider the question: what would your good do if evil did not exist, and what would the earth look like if shadows disappeared from it?

— Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita

…the pointy-haired boss doesn’t mind if his company gets their ass kicked, so long as no one can prove it’s his fault.

— Paul Graham, Hackers & Painters

…the ‘mathematical’ approach to ethics had led to rigid formalisms which were antithetical to justice.

— Anja Publications, Philosophy Now