“Problem solving, and I don't mean algebra, seems to be my life's work. Maybe it's everyone's life's work.”

“The serious problems in life...are never fully solved. If ever they should appear to be so it is a sure sign that something has been lost. The meaning and purpose of a problem seem to lie not in its solution but in our working at it incessantly.”

“I don't know how to choose work that illuminates what my life is about. I don't know what my life is about and don't examine it. My life will define itself as I live it. The movies will define themselves as I make them. As long as the theme is something I care about at the moment, it's enough for me to start work. Maybe work itself is what my life is about.”

“I'm not really silly enough to think that chocolate solves anything. But it calms me. It's a soothing assurance, that this hectic life I have worked myself into is also full of wonderful surprises and unexpected sweetness. It reminds me that a hefty percentage of my "problems" don't really need to be solved at all, just outlasted.”

“Life is not a problem to be solved but a work to be made, and that work may well utilize much raw material we would prefer to do without.”

“I don't believe in God. My God is patriotism. Teach a man to be a good citizen and you have solved the problem of life.”