Marilyn vos Savant

“Email, instant messaging, and cell phones give us fabulous communication ability, but because we live and work in our own little worlds, that communication is totally disorganized.”

“While you're writing, you can't concentrate nearly as well on what the speaker is saying.”

“Be able to tell whether garments that look good on the hanger actually look good on you.”

“Although spoken English doesn't obey the rules of written language, a person who doesn't know the rules thoroughly is at a great disadvantage.”

“Be able to hiccup silently, or at least without alerting neighbors to your situation. The first hiccup is an exception.”

“Be able to correctly pronounce the words you would like to speak and have excellent spoken grammar.”

“Be able to blow out a dinner candle without sending wax flying across the table.”

“Play more than one game at a time. This is a painless way to learn how to do many things at once.”

“Know the names of past and current artists who are most famous for playing their instruments.”

“I would not encourage children or teens to multitask because we don't know where those efforts may lead.”

“The length of your education is less important than its breadth, and the length of your life is less important than its depth.”

“Skill is successfully walking a tightrope between the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center. Intelligence is not trying.”

“Be able to recognize the dangerous snakes, spiders, insects, and plants that live in your area of the country.”

“Know which officials are voted into office and which are appointed, and by whom.”

“To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe.”

“A person who learns to juggle six balls will be more skilled than the person who never tries to juggle more than three.”

“Be able to back up a car for a considerable distance in a straight line and back out of a driveway.”

“Capital punishment is the source of many an argument, both good and bad.”

“If your head tells you one thing, and your heart tells you another, before you do anything, you should first decide whether you have a better head or a better heart.”

“When our spelling is perfect, it's invisible. But when it's flawed, it prompts strong negative associations.”