Neal Stephenson Quotes:
Ocupation: Author
Life: b. October 31, 1959
Birthday: October 31
Most of my colleagues go on backpacking trips when they have to do some thinking. I go to a good hardware store and head for the oiliest, dustiest corners... If they're really good, they don't hassle me. They let me wander around and think. Young hardware clerks have a lot of hubris. They think they can help you find anything... Old hardware clerks have learned the hard way that nothing in a hardware store ever gets bought for its nominal purpose. You buy something that was designed to do one thing, and you use it for another.
source: "Zodiac: An Eco-Thriller". Book by Neal Stephenson, May 1988.
topic: Thinking, Clerks, Use, Hassle, Hard Way
