Republican candidates had to appeal to their base, which is by and large elderly white people arguing with empty chairs.

The problem with digital books is that you can always find what you are looking for but you need to go to a bookstore to find what you weren't looking for.

When stock prices are rising, it's called ''momentum investing''; when they are falling, it's called ''panic.''

The science fiction world has a lot of people doing seriously imaginative thinking.

Consumer spending is now plunging at serious-recession rate ... even if the rescue now in train succeeds in unfreezing credit markets, the real economy has immense downward momentum. In addition to financial rescues, we need major stimulus programs.

Coming up with a good idea, with an insight into the way the world works that is really new and that you really believe in, is a deeply satisfying experience.

If you had to explain America's economic success with one word, that word would be "education".... Until now, the results of educational neglect have been gradual - a slow-motion erosion of America's relative position. But things are about to get much worse, as the economic crisis ... deals a severe blow to education across the board.... We need to wake up and realize that one of the keys to our nation's historic success is now a wasting asset. Education made America great; neglect of education can reverse the process.