Jordan Hay

“In the popular folklore of American history, there is a sense in which the founders’ various achievements in natural philosophy—Franklin’s electrical experiments, Jefferson’s botany—serve as a kind of sanctified extracurricular activity. They were statesmen and political visionaries who just happened to be hobbyists in science, albeit amazingly successful ones. Their great passions were liberty and freedom and democracy; the experiments were a side project. But the Priestley view suggests that the story has it backward. Yes, they were hobbyists and amateurs at natural philosophy, but so were all the great minds of Enlightenment-era science. What they shared was a fundamental belief that the world could change—that it could improve—if the light of reason was allowed to shine upon it.”
― Steven Johnson, The Invention of Air: A Story Of Science, Faith, Revolution, And The Birth Of America

“It is always better to admire the best among our foes rather than the worst among our friends”
― Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer

“He would only shrug and look at me expectantly again, waiting for high magic: magic that came only when you made some larger version of yourself with words and promises, and then stepped inside and somehow grew to fill it.”
― Naomi Novik, Spinning Silver

“My painful mistakes shifted me from having a perspective of “I know I’m right” to having one of “How do I know I’m right?”
― Ray Dalio, Principles: Life and Work