‘If people do not believe that mathematics is simple,’ von Neumann once said, ‘it is only because they do not realize how complicated life is.’

— Ananyo Bhattacharya, The Man From the Future

We can’t just say all you need are lambdas—Alonzo Church proved it, so we’re not going to add any more to the language. That’s the sort of impoverished approach that tries to make everybody into an expert and it will not work on the large number of programmers out there who have been mistrained in these Java schools.

— Peter Seibel, Coders at Work

Joy is only for those whose life accords with the given Order of the world.

— Aldous Huxley, Ape and Essence

It’s not wrong to make a list of things that you need to do, and then start doing those things. What’s unrealistic is believing that the list is right no matter what new information arises as you move through its action items. What’s wrong is viewing that list as your work, disconnected from a higher outcome. Countless studies have shown that when people are connected to a higher purpose, they do better work. They’re more motivated. They’re happier.

— Janice Fraser, Jason Fraser, and Eric Ries, Farther, Faster, and Far Less Drama

“But is there not a pleasure,” said Candide, “in criticising everything, in pointing out faults where others see nothing but beauties?”

— Voltaire, Candide