Addiction to knowledge is like any other addiction. It offers an escape from the fear of emptiness, of loneliness, of frustration, the fear of being nothing.

This high skilled immigration debate is wild because you have a lot of people who don’t build things commenting on the type of talent it takes to build things.

It is even more difficult to get a man to understand something when his identity depends on his not understanding it.

C. S. Lewis, perfection

You can read Siddhartha 100 times and still be blown away at the 101st

I think about this HN comment a lot.

— Haruki Murakami

C. S. Lewis, got this on repeat in my head

To paraphrase Harold Bloom, you are what you remember, it is therefore essential to adorn your mind with things beautiful.

The secret to success in almost all fields is large, uninterrupted blocks of focused time.

Looking stupid for a while is the price of all great dreams

The greatest failures are silent and invisible, paths not taken, words not spoken, deeds not done, all visible signs of failure are immense victories by comparison

Franz Kafka, be patient

The fastest way to attract what’s meant for you is to express yourself so honestly that everything misaligned falls away on its own.

Underrated social skill: Letting someone have their moment. One-uppers are exhausting. Real confidence lets others feel seen, heard, celebrated. Don’t hijack the story. Don't bring it back to you. Secure people don't steal attention.

Every great engineer is also an artist.