“Unlike earlier thinkers, who had sought to improve their accuracy by getting rid of error, Laplace realized that you should try to get more error: aggregate enough flawed data, and you get a glimpse of the truth. “The genius of statistics, as Laplace defined it, was that it did not ignore errors; it quantified them,” the writer Louis Menand observed. “…The right answer is, in a sense, a function of the mistakes.”
― Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error
― Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error
“Tonight I heard Louis's horn. My father heard it, too. The wind was right, and I could hear the notes of taps, just as darkness fell. There is nothing in all the world I like better than the trumpet of the swan.”
― The Trumpet of the Swan
― The Trumpet of the Swan
“Basically, I have two speeds.... Hostile or smart-aleck. Your choice.”
― Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports
― Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports
“I shall begin a search for such a device, and if I have to go to the ends of the earth to find a trumpet for our young son, I shall find it at last and bring it home to Louis."
"Well, if I may make a suggestion," said his wife, "don't go to the ends of the earth, go to Billings, Montana. It's nearer.”
― La trompeta del cisne
"Well, if I may make a suggestion," said his wife, "don't go to the ends of the earth, go to Billings, Montana. It's nearer.”
― La trompeta del cisne
“How's Uncle Louis today?" "Who?" "And Aunt Maude?”
― Fahrenheit 451
― Fahrenheit 451
Louis’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Louis’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Louis
Lists liked by Louis

























