in some of the more lawless parts of the former Soviet Union, gangs prey so systematically on travelers on trains and buses that they have developed the habit of giving each victim a little token to confirm that the bearer has already been robbed. Obviously, one step toward the creation of a state.

— David Graeber, Debt

The scientific enterprise as a whole does from time to time prove useful, open up new territory, display order, and test long-accepted belief. Nevertheless, the individual engaged on a normal research problem is almost never doing any one of these things.

— Thomas S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

Deep down, many engineers secretly wish to be seen as geniuses.

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

The wise man will not despise himself even if he has the stature of a dwarf, but he nevertheless wishes to be tall. The wise man is self-sufficient in that he can do without friends, not that he desires to do without them.

— Alain De Botton, The Consolations of Philosophy

The health of your product and the speed of development are not actually in opposition to each other, and products that release more frequently and in small batches have better quality outcomes.

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