Genius is not so much a light as it is a constant awareness of the surrounding gloom, and its typical cowardice is to bathe in its own glow and avoid, as much as possible, looking out beyond its boundary.

— Stanislaw Lem, Seth Shostak, and Michael Kandel, His Master’s Voice

There’s no answer that works forever in all situations. There is only the best answer for the moment, and it almost certainly involves making trade-offs in one direction or another.

— Titus Winters, Tom Manshreck, and Hyrum Wright, Software Engineering at Google

Anyone could have used these 4,178 words. In the hands of William Shakespeare, they became King Lear.

— Gerald M. Weinberg, Fiona Charles, Keats Kirsch, Dani Weinberg, and Earl Everett, Weinberg on Writing

God is the creator, and ultimate enforcer, of any system of cosmic morality. But in order to create a system, one must be prior to it; for this reason God himself cannot be bound by moral laws.

— David Graeber, The Utopia of Rules

True and abiding happiness in work comes from being deeply engaged in solving a problem with talented people you know are also deeply engaged in solving it, and from knowing that the customer loves the product or service you all have worked so hard to make.

— Patty McCord, Powerful