There is a devilishly direct relationship between the significance of an idea and how nervous we become at the prospect of having to think about it.

Good books put a finger on emotions that are deeply our own - but that we could never have described on our own.

Writing isn’t a career choice. It’s self-medication that over time precipitates the madness it was meant to ward off.

The problem isn't so much finding good ideas (there is no shortage) as embedding the ones we have into everyday practice.

One kind of good book should leave you asking: how did the author know that about me?

When I see someone like Richard Dawkins, I see my father. I grew up with that. I'm basically the child of Richard Dawkins.

What is a snob? A snob is anybody who takes a small part of you and uses that to come to a complete vision of who you are. That is snobbery.