For a few years now I have maintained a personal list of my own principles. These are propositions, or rules for life, that I have generally observed to be true, at least in my own experience.

This list evolves over time—growing as new principles are realized, shrinking when an entry has been discovered to not be wholly true (and summarily removed). The list of principles need not even be an original thought (though some are), they must simply hold up as true over time when broadly applied.

One of the early items on the list is as follows:

Those who talk the most often have the least to say.