If there is anything in the world that can really be called a man's property, it is surely that which is the result of his mental activity.

Who you are isn't tied solely to what you say, even though it may feel that way to you now.

—Diane Ackerman

It began in mystery, and it will end in mystery, but what a savage and beautiful country lies in between.

—Diane Ackerman

Doing what you love means dealing with things you don't.

—Diane Ackerman

The knowing, I told myself, is only a vapor of the mind, and yet it can wreck havok with one's sanity.

—Diane Ackerman

The best way to divulge a secret is to tell someone not to say anything about it.

—Diane Ackerman

Thinking rationally is often different from "positive thinking," in that it is a realistic assessment of the situation, with a view towards rectifying the problem if possible.

—Ambrose Bierce

What a splendid head, yet no brain.

—Aesop

Brain: an apparatus with which we think we think.

—Ambrose Bierce

The chief function of the body is to carry the brain around.

—Thomas A. Edison

We think work with the brain is more worthy than work with the hands. Nobody who thinks with his hands could ever fall for this.

—E. F. Schumacher