254 Quotes by Cory Doctorow

Sysadmins are the unsung heroes of the century, and if they’re not busting you for sending racy IMs or engaging in unprofessional email conduct, it’s purely out of their own goodwill.

If surgeons don’t get surgeon’s block, then why are you allowed to get writer’s block?

The opposite of esprit d’escalier is the way that life’s embarrassments come back to haunt us even after they’re long past. I could remember every stupid thing I’d ever said or done, recall them with picture-perfect clarity. Any time I was feeling low, I’d naturally start to remember other times I felt that way, a hit parade of humiliations coming one after another to my mind.

For hundreds of years, the human race has dreamt of a world where knowledge could be shared universally, where every human being on the planet could have access to our storehouse of knowledge. Because knowledge is power, and shared knowledge is a superpower. Now, after centuries, we have it within our grasp to realize one of our most beautiful dreams.

It’s the stupid questions that have some of the most surprising and interesting answers. Most people never think to ask the stupid questions.

But if you’re not prepared to learn from the teachers that life gives you, you’ll always be ignorant.

I’m suspicious of any plan to fix unfairness that starts with ‘step one, dismantle the entire system and replace it with a better one,’ especially if you can’t do anything else until step one is done.

If you stare at someone long enough, they’ll eventually look back at you.

With enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow.