There were many at Bell Labs and MIT who compared Shannon's insight to Einstein's. Others found that comparison unfair - unfair to Shannon.

Expectation is a statistical fiction, like having 2.5 children.

Samuelson, however, hedged his personal bets - by putting some of his own money in Berkshire Hathaway.

Use "entropy" and you can never lose a debate, von Neumann told Shannon - because no one really knows what "entropy" is.

The more improbable the message, the less "compressible" it is, and the more bandwidth it requires. This is Shannon's point: the essence is its improbability.

The best paradoxes raise questions about what kinds of contradictions can occur-what species of impossibilities are possible.

The best strategy is one that offers the highest compound return consistent with no risk of going broke.

The ultimate compound return rate is acutely sensitive to fat tails.

In real conversations, we are always trying to outguess each other.

The story of the Kelly system is a story of secrets - or if you prefer, a story of entropy.

A bit is worth 10,000 basis points.

I am falling in love with heavenly Father.

I wondered how far I should turn out faithful to that ideal conception of one's own personality every man sets up for himself secretly.

The giving of undue prominence to one fact brings others inexorably on the head of the student to avenge his neglect of them,

You do what you can, and you do it because you should. But all you can do is all you can do.

The guy is a stud with women just following him around wherever he goes. But he is the last one who'll ask anyone to do anything for him. He'd rather just go do it himself.

I think if we have a policy of zero violence, it won't be met, but the policy of getting the Iraqis in the fight and marginalizing those who are trying to stir up trouble will be effective.

One may live tranquilly in a dungeon; but does life consist in living quietly?

I'm never lonely when I'm writing, because you live with the characters that are so alive in your mind. And you really see them and know them and get to be friends with them.

Pain is the fuel of passion - it energizes us with an intensity to change that we don't normally possess.

The public want to see people play an exciting brand of cricket.