Our moral philosophy determines our values - what we care about and what we don't care about - and our values determine our decisions, actions, and beliefs. Therefore, moral philosophy applies to everything in our lives.

I think humility - which I think is a very good value to adopt - is basically an extension of understanding your own ignorance.

If someone is better than you at something, then it's likely because she has failed at it more than you have. If someone is worse than you, it's likely because he hasn't been through all of the painful learning experiences you have.

There's a paradox with self-improvement, and it is this: the ultimate goal of all self-improvement is to reach the point where you no longer feel the need to improve yourself.

When death has you by the throat, you don't mince words.

All stories interest me, and some haunt me until I end up writing them. Certain themes keep coming up: justice, loyalty, violence, death, political and social issues, freedom.

Iran continues to explicitly threaten to destroy the state of Israel, America's most important ally in the region. Its leaders continue to shout, 'Death to America.' If Iran wants to be a part of the world community, it should renounce such statements.

I tried to avoid anything that caused me frustration or grief or duress. I played FarmVille and procrastinated like all teenagers.