Nationalism is an infantile disease, the measles of mankind. - Walter Isaacson

Those who are in love with practice without theoretical knowledge are like the sailor who goes onto a ship without rudder or compass and who never can be certain whither he is going,” he wrote in 1510. “Practice must always be founded on sound theory.”11

Leonardo da Vinci liked to boast that, because he was not formally educated, he had to learn from his own experiences instead

I think Henry Kissinger grew up with that odd mix of ego and insecurity that comes from being the smartest kid in the class. From really knowing you're more awesomely intelligent than anybody else, but also being the guy who got beaten up for being Jewish.