Why, can you imagine what would happen if we named all the twos Henry or George or Robert or John or lots of other things? You'd have to say Robert plus John equals four, and if the four's name were Albert, things would be hopeless.

The only other thing which I think is important is: Don't write a book or start a book with the expectation of communicating a message in a very important way.

People always ask about my influences, and they cite a bunch of people I've never heard of

I don't know of any wrong road to Dictionopolis, so if this road goes to Dictionopolis at all it must be the right road, and if it doesn't it must be the right road to somewhere else, because there are no wrong roads to anywhere. Do you think it will rain?

Have you ever heard a blindfolded octopus unwrap a cellophane-covered bathtub?

And it's much the same thing with knowledge, for whenever you learn something new, the whole world becomes that much richer.

...it's not just learning that's important. It's learning what to do with what you learn and learning why you learn things that matters.