Freedom, liberty, individual rights, that idea of dealing with other people in a matter that is not initiating force against them, is critical to me.

Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's what we're doing.

I'm a big advocate of freedom: freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of thought.

My original concept was to provide a free encyclopedia for every single person in the world.

The goal is to give people a free encyclopedia to every person in the world, in their own language. Not just in a 'free beer' kind of way, but also in the free speech kind of way.

The real struggle is not between the right and the left but between the party of the thoughtful and the party of the jerks.

Most people assume the fights are going to be the left versus the right, but it always is the reasonable versus the jerks.

We are growing from a cheerful small town where everyone waves off their front porch to the subway of New York City where everyone rushes by. How do you preserve the culture that has worked so well?

Love. It isn't very popular in technical circles to say a lot of mushy stuff about love, but frankly it's a very very important part of what holds our project together.

Everybody tells jokes, but we still need comedians.

A lot of people who work on open-source software don't mind making money elsewhere. They aren't anticommercial.

Life itself is a frightening image for every human being.... being strong in life isn't easy.

There is a solitude in poverty, but a solitude which restores to each thing its value.

Let me learn now where Beauty is; I was born to know her mysteries . . .

Anybody who comes to you and says he has a perfect language is either naive or a salesman.

What are friends? Friends are people you think are your friends but they really your enemies, with secret identities.

Cannot we let [children] be themselves, and enjoy life in their own way? You are trying to make another you. One's enough.

In every creepy movie ever made, the barn is the prime nesting ground for the things you don't know you're looking for and always regret finding.

Strangers are just friends waiting to happen

The brain is like a TV set; when it goes blank, it's a good idea to turn off the sound.

The leaders of the petty bourgeoisie must teach the people to trust the bourgeoisie. The proletarians must teach the people to distrust the bourgeoisie.