…a cursory look at the state, federal, and local budgets show the majority of taxes (around 70%) is simply transferring money from smart people to dumber ones.

— Aaron Clarey, Curse of the High IQ

…understanding will always require some effort.

— Jostein Gaarder, Sophie’s World

The bureaucratization of daily life means the imposition of impersonal rules and regulations; impersonal rules and regulations, in turn, can only operate if they are backed up by the threat of force.

— David Graeber, The Utopia of Rules

Suppose a nihilist wants to trigger a nuclear holocaust that will destroy humanity. You try to reason with him. He insists that the human race is not worth preserving, that it should go the way of the dinosaurs, that the universe would be better off if the human race were to vanish. Is it not obvious that there is no way to confront him with scientific evidence that will refute his belief, or with any rational arguments he will find persuasive? In this sense the emotivists are clearly right.

— Martin Gardner, The Whys of a Philosophical Scrivener

…more complex projects get derailed by personal conflict than by technical complexity…

— Will Larson and Tanya Reilly, Staff Engineer