From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
War teaches you that there are many different types of people, good and bad, and you have to understand that good and evil co-exist, and it's up to you to calculate your way through the world, understanding where people are rooted.
We wouldn't want to live in a world of full transparency. That is a world where I can see into your brain, and you into mine. We all need privacy for our thoughts, and inside government we need politicians and advisers to be able to explore ideas in private.
What makes SETI different today is that instead of the verb "to believe" we're trying to use the verb "to explore". We want to see what's actually out there instead of just believing what someone tells us is out there.
The purpose of intelligence is to improve the quality of decision making by reducing ignorance. The more you know the more likely it is that a sound decision will be taken. That applies to all of us in our day-to-day decisions.
Manifesting involves leveraging the mind's power to shape our reality. For me, it's more than just a concept; it's a self-development tool and a way of life. It's about finding the best version of oneself, gaining empowerment, and unlocking the potential for positive change and transformation.
Thriving as a human isn't some finish line you cross; it's an ongoing journey. You want a life where you can feel like you're thriving every single day—not just fixated on some peak you're aiming for, but actually savouring each step along the way.
Trust is a confident relationship with the unknown. Trust isn't, at its essence, an asset or an attribute or a currency. It's a belief. It's what we believe about someone or something.
The idea that if you are proud to be British you need to be proud of British history is nonsensical. Does it mean you have to be proud of all of history? Of slavery? You might as well be proud of biology or jelly.
There's no sensible definition of people without technology. Our relationship with technology is complex and helical. As technology changes over time, so do we, and we have a situation therefore where we develop technologies, adapt, and then need new technologies to solve the side-effects of the first.
We all know – almost intuitively – that we're part of something that requires awe and wonder. It's so amazing we're here, it's bonkers! There is so much inspiration around us – it's awe inspiring.
So many things in life divide us – the colour of our skin, the language we speak, the god we worship, but when we run, we're the same. When we run, we're united, it's a commonality across our species like nothing else.
We're extraordinarily vulnerable to the functions of our heart, no other organ can cause sudden death.