To think independently of other human beings is impossible, and if it were possible it would be undesirable. Thinking is necessarily, thoroughly, and wonderfully social.

— Alan Jacobs, How to Think

In the glorification of ‘work’ and the never-ceasing talk about the ‘blessing of labor’ I see . . . fear of everything individual. For at the sight of work—that is to say, severe toil from morning till night—we have the feeling that it is the best police, viz., that it holds everyone in check and effectively hinders the development of reason, of greed, and of desire for independence. For work uses up an extraordinary proportion of nervous force, withdrawing it from reflection, meditation, dreams, cares, love, and hatred

— Friedrich Nietzsche, Daybreak

If you think that the mere prospect of the end of the world is sufficient to change thinking in Washington and Moscow you clearly haven’t spent much time in either of those places.

— Steven Pinker, Enlightenment Now

…our consciousness weaves a route at random along the ever-branching evolutionary pathway of the cosmos, so it is we, rather than God, who are playing dice.

— Paul Davies, Other Worlds

One big problem with our base-ten system of numbers is that it doesn’t have any relevance for cartoon characters. Most cartoon characters have only four fingers on each hand (or paw), so they prefer a number system that’s based on eight.

— Charles Petzold, Code