…a retort to those who, wishing to humble us, quote St Augustine’s anatomically correct observation that Inter faeces et urinam nascimur : ‘We are born between faeces and urine’. It’s true. But we are the only living creatures who articulate and reflect on this fact – and in Latin.

— Anja Publications, Philosophy Now

What is it that civilization softens in us? The only gain of civilization for mankind is the greater capacity for variety of sensations, and absolutely nothing more. And through the development of this many-sidedness, man may come to finding enjoyment in bloodshed.

— Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes from the Underground

…don’t be the idiot that fails because he didn’t ask for help.

— Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, and George Spafford, The Phoenix Project

Manufacturing is a popular metaphor for software development. One inference from this metaphor: highly skilled engineers design; less skilled laborers assemble the products. This metaphor has messed up a lot of projects for one simple reason—software development is all design.

— Eric Evans, Domain-Driven Design

The present generation enjoys the greatest power in history, but it appears to have the shortest vision in history. That combination is lethal.

— SALT Summaries, Condensed Ideas About Long-Term Thinking, Stewart Brand