Butterflies are not insects,' Captain John Sterling said soberly. 'They are self-propelled flowers.

Democracy can't work. Mathematicians, peasants, and animals, that's all there is - so democracy, a theory based on the assumption that mathematicians and peasants are equal, can never work. Wisdom is not additive; its maximum is that of the wisest man in a given group.

The extremely tiny fraction who think regularly, accurately, creatively, and without self-delusion - in the long run, these are the only people who count.

People who go broke in a big way never miss any meals. It is the poor jerk who is shy a half slug who must tighten his belt.

I have never been impressed by the formal schools of ethics.

The only thing privacy laws accomplish is making the bugs smaller.

...more than six people cannot agree on anything, three is better and one is perfect for a job that one can do. This is why parliamentary bodies all through history, when they accomplished anything, owed it to a few strong men who dominated the rest.