"The term 'the American Left' is as near to being meaningless or nonsensical as any term could really be in politics. It isn't really a force in politics anymore. And it would do well to ask itself why that is."

"Religion is not going to come up with any new arguments."

"If you look at any Muslim society and you make a scale of how developed they are, and how successful the economy is, it's a straight line. It depends on how much they emancipate their women."

"I think the materialist conception of history is valid."

"Singularity is almost invariably a clue. The more featureless and commonplace a crime is, the more difficult is it to bring it home."

"To build a legacy, one must accept that the light of knowledge dispels the darkness of ignorance."

"Fear will knock at every door; only those with resolved hearts refuse to let it enter. Let this simple maxim guide your daily deeds — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"When I'm home on a break, I lock myself in my room and play guitar. After two or three hours, I start getting into this total meditation. It's a feeling few people experience, and that's usually when I come up with weird stuff. It just flows. I can't force myself. I don't sit down and say I've got to practice."