Sporting competitions seem to be what we obsess over, frankly. So if we can put engineering, science, technology into a format of healthy, fun competition, we can attract all sorts of kids that might not see the kind of activity we do as accessible or rewarding.

Nothing that has value, real value, has no cost. Not freedom, not food, not shelter, not healthcare.

I think an education is not only important, it is the most important thing you can do with your life.

I started realizing that I wasn't so dumb; rather, most people simply didn't know the answers to the questions that I was interested in-or they didn't care

I don't work on a project unless I believe that it will dramatically improve life for a bunch of people.

[Chuck's wife] was standing behind me at the time and she said, 'Chuck hasn't fed himself in 19 years. So, you've got a choice: We keep the arm, or you keep Chuck.'

What really makes it an invention is that someone decides not to change the solution to a known problem, but to change the question.