Character isn't what we think it is or, rather, what we want it to be. It isn't a stable, easily identifiable set of closely related traits, and it only seems that way because of a glitch in the way our brains are organized. Character is more like a bundle of habits and tendencies and interests, loosely bound together and dependent, at certain times, on circumstance and context.

Innovation-the heart of the knowledge economy-is fundamentally social.

An aggressive drug-testing program would cut down on certain abuses, but its never going to catch everyone - or even close to everyone.

Activism that challenges the status quo, that attacks deeply rooted problems, is not for the faint of heart.

To be someone's best friend requires a minimum investment of time. More than that, though, it takes emotional energy. Caring about someone deeply is exhausting.

No one who can rise before dawn three hundred sixty days a year fails to make his family rich.

Re-reading is much underrated. I've read The Spy Who Came in from the Cold once every five years since I was 15. I only started to understand it the third time.