We call talking about other people’s personal lives ‘gossip’ only if we aren’t or weren’t part of the conversation.

Though people sort of need your permission to talk to you, they do not really need one to talk about you.

There is no such thing as a boring person when you are lonely or extremely bored.

Some people talk about other people’s failures with so much pleasure that you would swear they are talking about their own successes.

You cannot force someone to believe something they do not believe; you can only manage to force them to speak or act as if they do.

An ignorant man who is regarded as knowledgeable by people who are more ignorant than him is still ignorant.