From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
Quantum computing is thus not just a technological pursuit, but a deeply philosophical one, aiming to probe the very foundations of our world.
Intelligence is a big deal. Humanity owes its dominant position on Earth not to any special strength of our muscles, nor any unusual sharpness of our teeth, but to the unique ingenuity of our brains. It is our brains that are responsible for the complex social organization and the accumulation of technical, economic, and scientific advances that, for better and worse, underpin modern civilization.
In comparing alternative explanations, it is not necessarily the one with the most evidence apparently in its favour that we should choose but the one with least evidence against it. One solid piece of evidence can demolish a hypothesis.
What we have in the colon may actually be a kind of defence system regulating the mucosal integrity of the body.
The quantum universe is counter-intuitive, it's fuzzy, probabilistic, and suggests things that we would regard as fantastical and magical if we saw them on the everyday scale- yet it's the most powerful theory in science.
Thanks to the incredible concept of neuroplasticity, we can reshape our thought patterns. Techniques like affirmations, altering our language, or refining our thought processes are invaluable.
Consciousness lies beyond the framework of quantum mechanics. It must be regarded as a primitive of the universe itself, not merely of brains. If consciousness is a universal primitive, then the entire totality of what exists is conscious and desires self‑knowledge.
It's quite remarkable that we, creatures who evolved dodging predators on the African savannah, have been able to develop quantum mechanics. I find this to be a splendid evolutionary offshoot.
Knowledge isn't just stored in people or the sum of individuals; knowledge exists in the network. The labour market is always searching for those matches, constantly learning because technology changes and people retire, keeping the system out of equilibrium.
Birds are not born with an innate genetically determined knowledge of constellations. What they do has been brilliantly shown in an experiment by Stephen Emlen. Birds learn when they're young to look at this night sky and learn which bits of the sky don't rotate.
Cooking is about precision, but it's also about understanding the science behind why ingredients behave the way they do. You can't innovate without understanding the fundamentals.
We are at a stage of development where we have 'god like' physical powers. In the bible, only God could create new life forms- yet with the genetics technologies we have, we can do that. In the Bible, only God was supposed to be able to throw down thunderbolts that could incinerate whole cities; we call them nuclear weapons.