Tom Vanderbilt:

If a pattern can't be observed, it probably just means you haven't looked long enough.

Benjamin Sandofsky:

There are no silver bullets to solve essential complexity. Trying to abstract away essential complexity only makes things more complex.

Colin Powell:

Tell me what you know.

Tell me what you don't know.

Then tell me what you think.

Always distinguish which is which.

Graham Morehead:

Their numbers were better than ever. Their lives were hell.

Carl Honore:

Our addiction to speed is backfiring on us.

Speed becomes a form of denial. It's a way of running away from those deeper, tangled problems. Instead of focusing on questions like who am I, and what is my role here, it all becomes a superficial to-do list.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi:

JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI is the story of 85 year-old Jiro Ono, considered by many to be the world's greatest sushi chef. He is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant inauspiciously located in a Tokyo subway station. ... For most of his life, Jiro has been mastering the art of making sushi, but even at his age he sees himself still striving for perfection, working from sunrise to well beyond sunset to taste every piece of fish; meticulously train his employees; and carefully mold and finesse the impeccable presentation of each sushi creation.

Elizabeth Kolbert:

Lots of people offer the notion that parenthood will make them happy. Here the evidence is, sadly, against them. Research shows that people who have children are no more satisfied with their lives than people who don't. If anything, the balance tips the other way: parents are less happy.

We regard pleasure and pain differently. Pleasure missed out on by the nonexistent doesn't count as a harm. Yet suffering avoided counts as a good, even when the recipient is a nonexistent one.