When we think in terms of systems, we see that a fundamental misconception is embedded in the popular term “side-effects.”. . . This phrase means roughly “effects which I hadn’t foreseen or don’t want to think about.”. . . Side-effects no more deserve the adjective “side” than does the “principal” effect. It is hard to think in terms of systems, and we eagerly warp our language to protect ourselves from the necessity of doing so.

— Donella H. Meadows, Thinking in Systems

something mentally strenuous provides a greater benefit to learning than something easy.

— Scott Young, Ultralearning

…from a Bayesian perspective, you need an amount of evidence roughly equivalent to the complexity of the hypothesis just to locate the hypothesis in theory-space.

— Eliezer Yudkowsky, Maps and Territory

Rejecting foundationalism means accepting that we have every right to hold basic beliefs that are not legitimated by philosophical reflection.

— Peter Catapano and Simon Critchley, The Stone Reader

Acknowledging that you do not have complete free will, or complete conscious control, actually increases the amount of free will and control you truly have.

— John A. Bargh, Before You Know It