Invented languages have often been created in tandem with entire invented universes, and most conlangers come to their craft by way of fantasy and science fiction. – Joshua Foer
No one who set out to design a form of communication would ever end up with anything like English, Mandarin, or any of the more than six thousand languages spoken today. – Joshua Foer
Weve outsourced our memories to digital devices, and the result is that we no longer trust our memories. We see every small forgotten thing as evidence that theyre failing us. – Joshua Foer
One of the great challenges of our age, in which the tools of our productivity are also the tools of our leisure, is to figure out how to make more useful those moments of procrastination when were idling in front of our computer screens. – Joshua Foer
Women are, in my view, natural peacemakers. As givers and nurturers of life, through their focus on human relationships and their engagement with the demanding work of raising children and protecting family life, they develop a deep sense of empathy that cuts through to underlying human realities. – Daisaku Ikeda