I had to think twice to realize what Voltaire meant. I usually associate appreciation with saying “Thank you” or “Good job.” But, in this context, appreciation is more a matter of understanding and recognizing quality. When I read something just to get the facts or simply follow the plot, I am not appreciating the author’s skill in crafting the book. When I pay more attention to what I am reading, I appreciate the choice of words, the flow of ideas, and the pacing of the story....

 Most of the time when I lose or break something, it costs me some time and/or money to get it back or to get a replacement. But once I have recovered from the loss there are no lingering bad effects. However, if I lose someone's trust because of a lie or a broken promise, no matter what I do to try and fix things, some doubt will remain the next time I make a promise.

Almost any problem can be resolved if we honestly work on it together. If either of us is not honest about our part of a ...

 Words are the main tools we have for formulating and expressing our ideas. That means that our understanding cannot be more precise than the meaning of words. If we use vague words, then our ideas will be vague.

Every field of study has a specialized vocabulary. The first step in learning a new subject is to learn the exact definitions of the words used in that field.

 Saying “It’s not a problem” may seem to make life easier because if something is not a problem we can ignore it. That would be fine if it were true that “What you don’t know can’t hurt you.”

For a long time smoke from fires and engine exhaust was not considered a problem, so nothing was done to reduce the chemical emissions. Once people came to realize that the smog was hurting our health through asthma and other diseases, they started finding ways to improve the situation...