So a lot of what you see in the Baroque Cycle is me wanting to be one of those guys. In the case of Anathem, I needed something that was more formal, less flashy, as if it had been translated from the classical language of another planet, but enlivened with slang terms that a teenage narrator would enjoy throwing around.
Neal StephensonSupposing that originally there was nothing but one creator, how could ordinary binary sexual relations come into being?
Neal StephensonHow could your cover be blown in Canada? Why even bother going dark there? How could you tell?
Neal StephensonThe only thing that can effect a big change in personality is something that physically rewires the brain and/or alters the body's chemical milieu.
Neal StephensonIt is exciting to discover electrons and figure out the equations that govern their movement; it is boring to use those principles to design electric can openers. From here on out, it's all can openers.
Neal Stephenson