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“Deceit indeed is but a measure of the smallness of mind of him who employs it, and simply shows that his intelligence is too meagrely equipped to enable him to arrive at his ends by just and reasonable methods. No doubt the art of lying has ben practised with success in diplomacy; but unlike that honesty which here as elsewhere is the best policy, a lie always leaves a drop of poison behind, and even the most dazzling diplomatic success gained by dishonesty stands on an insecure foundation, for it awakes in the defeated party a sense of aggravation, a desire for vengeance, and a hatred which must always be a menace to his foe.”
― François de Callières, On the Manner of Negotiating with Princes: From Sovereigns to CEOs, Envoys to Executives -- Classic Principles of Diplomacy and the Art of Negotiation

“Any number that can be created by fetishistically multiplying 2s by each other, and subtracting the occasional 1, will be instantly recognizable to a hacker.”
― Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash

“I've suffered for what I know, so I'm not going to let you off the hook with a simple one-liner. I think you deserve a detailed explanation.”
― Charles Stross, The Atrocity Archives

“It gave me time to think about my character deficiencies. I didn’t think of them in those terms, but I did determine not to be any more stupid than was absolutely necessary, which is much the same thing.”
― Alexei Panshin, Rite of Passage