Think deeply about things. Don’t just go along because that’s the way things are or that’s what your friends say. Consider the effects, consider the alternatives, but most importantly, just think.

No, you can’t force other people to change. You can, however, change just about everything else. And usually, that’s enough.

Real education is about genuine understanding and the ability to figure things out on your own; not about making sure every 7th grader has memorized all the facts some bureaucrats have put in the 7th grade curriculum.

Steadfastness is a noble quality, but unguided by knowledge or humility, it becomes rashness, or obstinacy.

What is the most important thing you could be working on in the world right now? ... And if you're not working on that, why aren't you?

Only those blinded by greed would refuse to let a friend make a copy.

But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves. The world's entire scientific and cultural heritage, published over centuries in books and journals, is increasingly being digitized and locked up by a handful of private corporations. Want to read the papers featuring the most famous results of the sciences? You'll need to send enormous amounts to publishers like Reed Elsevier.