If we’re spending a lot of time second-guessing someone’s domain expertise and decision-making, then maybe they’re the wrong person.

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

…some of today’s florid outbursts of irrationality may be understood as the rational pursuit of goals other than an objective understanding of the world.

— Steven Pinker, Rationality

When it comes to our actions, disorder and distraction are death. The unordered mind loses track of what’s in front of it—what matters—and gets distracted by thoughts of the future.

— Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle Is the Way

…intelligence is not the same thing as rationality, since being good at computing something is no guarantee that a person will try to compute the right things. Rationality also requires reflectiveness, open-mindedness, and mastery of cognitive tools like formal logic and mathematical probability.

— Steven Pinker, Rationality

Humanists often contend that machines tend to dehumanize people by forcing them to have rigid personalities, but really, the contrary is true. Because the machines are rigid, the people who use them must—if they are to be successful—supply more than their share of flexibility.

— Gerald Weinberg, The Psychology of Computer Programming