Mind, n. A mysterious form of matter secreted by the brain. Its chief activity consists in the endeavor to ascertain its own nature, the futility of the attempt being due to the fact that it has nothing but itself to know itself with.

— Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary

For when gods fight among themselves, men have to die

— Etienne Gilson, The Unity of Philosophical Experience

One reason rhetorical sleight of hand gets past us is that, when listening to someone speak, we tend to focus on whether we like that person rather than whether they are making any sense.

— Ali Almossawi and Alejandro Giraldo, An Illustrated Book of Loaded Language

Apple demonstrates that by writing large checks to good ad agencies, you can plant a corporate image in the minds of intelligent people that is completely at odds with reality.

— Neal Stephenson, In the Beginning…Was the Command Line

In our data-driven world, we tend to overvalue numbers and undervalue anything ephemeral, soft, and difficult to quantify. We mistakenly think the factors we can measure are the only factors that exist.

— James Clear, Atomic Habits