Aaron Swartz

When I go to a library and I see the librarian at her desk reading, I'm afraid to interrupt her, even though she sits there specifically so that she may be interrupted, even though being interrupted for reasons like this by people like me is her very job. ”

Being around some of the bright lights of the technology world and having them expect great things helps you sit down and do it seriously. ”

Without the ability to talk about government power, there's no way for citizens to make sure this power isn't being misused. ”

Computers will be able to do all the mundane tasks in our daily lives. ”

I'm not such a nuisance to the world, and the kick I get out of living can, I suppose, justify the impositions I make on it. But when life isn't so fun, well, then I start to wonder. What's the point of going on if it's just trouble for us both? My friends will miss me, I am told. ”

Now, the typical way you make good things happen in Washington is you find a bunch of wealthy companies who agree with you. ”

Seriously, who really cares how long the Nile river is, or who was the first to discover cheese? How is memorizing that ever going to help anyone? Instead, we need to give kids projects that allow them to exercise their minds and discover things for themselves. ”

Normally, I just sit in my quiet little room and do the small things that bring me pleasures. I read my books, I answer email, I write a little bit. ”

The library world is set up on this model where the library is a physical building and has a number of books and serves a geographical community. ”

I was around computers from birth; we had one of the first Macs, which came out shortly before I was born, and my dad ran a company that wrote computer operating systems. I don't think I have any particular technical skills; I just got a really large head start. ”