In the absence of any other information about two seemingly well-meaning individuals, differences as subtle as accents can impact a willingness to learn.

— David DeSteno, The Truth About Trust

…if you already believe in free will, then you should want to know as much as possible about how it works, and if you don’t, then you have no choice but to resign yourself to your fate and read up on it anyway.

— Christopher Michael Langan and Chris Langan, The Art of Knowing

Probably an actual majority of the people who believe in evolution use the phrase “because of evolution” because they want to be part of the scientific in-crowd—belief as scientific attire, like wearing a lab coat.

— Eliezer Yudkowsky, Map and Territory

…the complaint that some very successful apps are “bloated” fails to recognize that while it may be true that only 20% of an app’s functionality is essential, that 20% may be different for different users.

— Daniel Jackson, The Essence of Software

Happy people live in the present; those with meaningful lives have a narrative about their past and a plan for the future.

— Steven Pinker, Enlightenment Now