The universe is not required to be in perfect harmony with human ambition. And yet, the most dangerous of all falsehoods is a slightly distorted truth, for a straight-out lie can be detected and opposed, but a half-truth insinuates itself into the understanding and breeds there.

We shall see but little way if we require to understand what we see. How few things can a man measure with the tape of his understanding! How many greater things might he be seeing in the meanwhile!

The demand for certainty is one which is natural to man, but is nevertheless an intellectual vice. So long as men are not trained to withhold judgment in the absence of evidence, they will be led astray by cocksure prophets.

We shall not grow wiser before we learn that much that we have done was very foolish.

The best decisions in business often come from understanding what you don't know rather than from expertise in what you do. Most people are taught to eliminate ignorance, but the real skill is in recognizing which ignorance matters.