“The unsolicited promise is one of the most reliable signals because it is nearly always of questionable motive.”

“The most reliable components are the ones you leave out.”

“Except for cases of pathological incapacity, one can and must communicate, and thereby contribute in a useful and easy way to the peace of others and oneself, because silence, the absence of signals, is itself a signal, but an ambiguous one, and ambiguity generates anxiety and suspicion. To say that it is impossible to communicate is false; one always can.”

“It answers the question that was tormenting you: my love, you are not 'one thing in my life' - not even the most important - because my life no longer belongs to me because… you are always me.”

“Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself the following question: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?”

“Direct democracy is undoubtedly one of the most efficient, reliable and transparent methods to determine the will of the people.”

“Promises are the uniquely human way of ordering the future, making it predictable and reliable to the extent that this is humanly possible.”

“Art matters not merely because it is the most magnificent ornament and the most nearly unfailing occupation of our lives, but because it is life itself.”

“Every author has several motivations for writing, and authors of technical books always have, as one motivation, the personal need to understand; that is, they write because they want to learn, or to understand a phenomenon, or to think through a set of ideas.”

“When one is considering systems it's always wise to raise questions about the most obvious and simple assumptions.”