“There is a saying that bad traders divorce their spouse sooner than abandon their positions. Loyalty to ideas is not a good thing for traders, scientists - or anyone.”

“Things always become obvious after the fact”

“Reality is far more vicious than Russian roulette. First, it delivers the fatal bullet rather infrequently, like a revolver that would have hundreds, even thousands of chambers instead of six. Afte...”

“Wit seduces by signaling intelligence without nerdiness.”

“A prophet is not someone with special visions, just someone blind to most of what others see”

“Meditation is a way to be narcissistic without hurting anyone”

“Universities are renowned for their tolerance of unusual characters, especially if they show originality and dedication to their research. I have often made the comment that not only are universiti...”

“To each, or about each, of his colleagues he had said at one time or other, something... something impossible to recall in this or that case and difficult to define in general terms -- some careles...”

“There are times when wisdom cannot be found in the chambers of parliament or the halls of academia but at the unpretentious setting of the kitchen table.”

“One of the professors told me last week that he feels bad teaching with the way the economy is now. Whats the point? he said. Kids arent getting jobs. You never hear faculty talk that way. He did.”

“Education makes your maths better, not necessarily your manners.”

“The goal of argumentation is to make a case so forceful (note the metaphor) that skeptics are coerced into believing itthey are powerless to deny it while still claiming to be rational. In principl...”

“To create art with all the passion in one's soul is to live art with all the beauty in one's heart.”

“art is risk made visible”

“Eleanor was right. She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.”