Those who say don't know, those who know don't say

Baseball is this intense subculture that actually doesn't speak very much for the larger culture.

The pleasure of rooting for Goliath is that you can expect to win. The pleasure of rooting for David is that, while you don’t know what to expect, you stand at least a chance of being inspired.

As idiotic as optimism can sometimes seem, it has a weird habit of paying off.

When you're trying to create a career as a writer, a little delusional thinking goes a long way.

In Japan, mothers insist on achievement and accomplishment as a sign of love and respect. Thus to fail places children in a highly shamed situation.

A banking system is an act of faith: it survives only for as long as people believe it will.

Above all, recognize that if you have had success, you have also had luck — and with luck comes obligation. You owe a debt, and not just to your Gods. You owe a debt to the unlucky.

A credit default swap was confusing mainly because it wasn't really a swap at all. It was an insurance policy, typically on a corporate bond, with semiannual premium payments and a fixed term.

One absolutely cannot tell, by watching, the difference between a .300 hitter and a .275 hitter. The difference is one hit every two weeks.

People don't like uncertainty, and their minds are tools for making sense of the world, even when the world is senseless.

I wanted a life of adventure. I wanted to travel. I wanted to work my way up to being Somebody. I wanted to leave a mark on the Earth and be remembered.

Helen hadn't realized how heavy the burden of hate had been until she was allowed to put it down.

A good book...leaves you wanting to reread the book. A great book compels you to reread your own soul.

I got well by talking. Death could not get a word in edgewise, grew discouraged, and traveled on.

Some of the burdens we carry include false weight, perhaps to make up for all the horrible stuff we actually did and forgot.

Common sense is almost as omniscient as God.

Oh, my tattered rags are caught on your coffee table.

Once I establish credit, I may be able to function. A man needs credit. Especially when he has no money.

I've had a good run of birthdays, and now no one will notice when I die.

I oppose the spending of trillions in Iraq and Afghanistan, I strongly oppose Islamic extremism but don't believe that sending troops to die in two unwinnable wars makes sense.