The way to solve a politically charged problem is to ask what you'd do if it weren't politically charged, and then just do that. - Paul Graham

One of the best presents you can get for a cook is a new spice they didn't know about. You're not just buying them the spice, but the knowledge that it exists, and what it's like.

Don't ignore your dreams; don't work too much; say what you think; cultivate friendships; be happy.

The biggest sleight of hand in essay writing is cramming tree-shaped ideas into linear form.

(Endnotes help a lot. They force those branches to be compressed, but the result can sometimes be pleasing in the same way gatehouses are.)