Jaron Lanier

"Style used to be an interaction between the human soul and tools that were limiting. In the digital era, it will have to come from the soul alone."

"What does it mean to not be alone? I've approached that question through music, technology, writing and other means."

"My parents were kind of like me in that they had tons and tons of weird, amazing stuff."

"Anonymous blog comments, vapid video pranks and lightweight mash-ups may seem trivial and harmless, but as a whole, this widespread practice of fragmentary, impersonal communication has demeaned personal interaction."

"Musicians and journalists are the canaries in the coalmine, but, eventually, as computers get more and more powerful, it will kill off all middle-class professions."

"My dad has sometimes felt that I grew up a little lacking in sufficient eccentricity - in the sense that I'm willing to live as an adult in a house with walls that are parallel to each other, that sort of thing."