You can't concentrate on doing anything if you are thinking, “What's gonna happen if it doesn't go right?

being able to act intelligently and instinctively in the moment is possible only after a long and rigorous of education and experience

Why are man hole covers around?" If you don't knwo the answer to the questions, you're not smart enough to work at microsoft

There's no idea that can't be explained to a thoughtful 14-year-old. If the thoughtful 14-year-old doesn't get it, it is your fault, not the 14-year-old's.

What interests me about fiction is plot. And what interests me about plot is whether someone tells a story that moves me within the constraints of storytelling. And I have narrowly defined storytelling.

When crime drops dramatically in New York for no apparent reason, or when a movie made on a shoestring budget ends up making hundreds of millions of dollars - we're surprised. I'm saying, don't be surprised. This is the way social epidemics work.

It takes ten thousand hours to truly master anything. Time spent leads to experience; experience leads to proficiency; and the more proficient you are the more valuable you'll be.