Aaron Swartz

“Be curious. Read widely. Try new things. What people call intelligence just boils down to curiosity.”

— Aaron Swartz (1986-2013)

“Creativity comes from applying things you learn in other fields to the field you work in.”

— Aaron Swartz (1986-2013)

“Real education is about genuine understanding and the ability to figure things out on your own; not about making sure every 7th grader has memorized all the facts some bureaucrats have put in the 7th grade curriculum.”

— Aaron Swartz (1986-2013)

“There is no justice in following unjust laws.”

— Aaron Swartz (1986-2013)

"What is the most important thing you could be working on in the world right now? ... And if you're not working on that, why aren't you?"

— Aaron Swartz (1986-2013)

"Think deeply about things. Don’t just go along because that’s the way things are or that’s what your friends say. Consider the effects, consider the alternatives, but most importantly, just think."

— Aaron Swartz (1986-2013)

"Now everyone has a license to speak, it’s a question of who gets heard."

— Aaron Swartz (1986-2013)

"As the Internet breaks down the last justifications for a professional class of politicians, it also builds up the tools for replacing them."

— Aaron Swartz (1986-2013)

"There is no justice in following unjust laws. It's time to come into the light and, in the grand tradition of civil disobedience, declare our opposition to this private theft of public culture."

— Aaron Swartz (1986-2013)

"But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves. The world's entire scientific and cultural heritage, published over centuries in books and journals, is increasingly being digitized and locked up by a handful of private corporations. Want to read the papers featuring the most famous results of the sciences? You'll need to send enormous amounts to publishers like Reed Elsevier."

— Aaron Swartz (1986-2013)

"Only those blinded by greed would refuse to let a friend make a copy."

— Aaron Swartz (1986-2013)