Wisdom in fragments

I also want to dispel the hero-myth of entrepreneurs, that they're somehow super-gifted individuals who are better than me or the people I know. I don't know any like that – my friends sleep late, smell funny, do stupid stuff and have weird joint problems. I don't know any superhumans.

Co-Founder of Square & Mobile Payment Pioneer

Doing something that has never been done before is terrifying… all the people who love you will tell you not to do it… not because they're jealous, but because they're genuinely scared for you… they're worried for your wellbeing. If you venture outside that wall, you are really somebody who has traded security and certainty for freedom and risk.

Co-Founder of Square & Mobile Payment Pioneer

While many investors were caught in this crisis, the leading economists in the world saw it coming.

The past 10 days have been 'the most dramatic in Wall Street's 216-year history' seeing Lehman Brothers collapse, AIG fall into critical distress, and the US Federal Reserve creating a c. US$1 Trillion rescue plan to 'save the world'.

The artificiality and unsustainability comes in when loans are made to customers who cannot repay those loans, and without sufficient regulatory control.

Economics professor specializing in entrepreneurship, innovation, and development in Africa

Monetary support for development in itself will not accelerate growth in the real economy to artificial or unsustainable levels. It is how the finance is used – or misused.

Economics professor specializing in entrepreneurship, innovation, and development in Africa

Consider for instance that the bulk of the world's foreign exchange reserves – trillions of dollars – are held by developing economies, and that the US runs a current account and budget deficit of astronomical proportions.

Economics professor specializing in entrepreneurship, innovation, and development in Africa

The essence of the evolving global economic system is that all countries are dependent on one another in some way, and this includes finance. Emerging and developing countries are dependent on capital inflows from developed regions. But developed regions are also dependent on funds from the developing world!

Economics professor specializing in entrepreneurship, innovation, and development in Africa

There is something about the female psyche which is intensely social, and the most trivial conversations become part of the process of bonding. They may appear trivial but there will be a lot more un-stated below the surface - a form of commitment.

Evolutionary Psychologist Known for Dunbar's Number Theory

If you imagine the archetypal social environment we have, probably until the beginning of the twentieth century, we saw our network, our community, every day. If a relative emigrated, we lost track of them very quickly and the family link disappeared as it was a very 'up front' person to person relationship.

Evolutionary Psychologist Known for Dunbar's Number Theory

Modern society, specifically the modern economy, is very mobile. Our friendships and social networks become very quickly dispersed. At any one time, we build friendships and relationships with people and, for example, due to work, move on.

Evolutionary Psychologist Known for Dunbar's Number Theory

Like all primates, we are an intensely social species, and having our friends, cohorts, and acquaintances close is important to our general success. In these senses 'keeping the wheels oiled' is critical, hence why we like gossip, and hence why biographies and fiction so wildly outsell anything else in the books market.

Evolutionary Psychologist Known for Dunbar's Number Theory

The price of technology comes down every year, year after year, and I see no immediate end in sight to that process. What this means is that the poorest people in the world will soon have the possibility to access the Internet in some form, and eventually will have 'ordinary' access to it.

Co-Founder of Wikipedia & Online Encyclopedia Pioneer

While participatory culture can create a Wikipedia, it is not likely to produce something like the Star Wars franchise. I don't think that's a problem, because I don't think we have to choose between participatory and top-down culture – both will thrive.

Co-Founder of Wikipedia & Online Encyclopedia Pioneer

With participatory culture, economics dictates that we pour more resources into building an infrastructure platform that anyone can use, so most resources go into empowering 'the long tail'. Small groups of people can come together and make use of a powerful infrastructure to enable them to pursue their own passions and interests, without regard for popularity.

Co-Founder of Wikipedia & Online Encyclopedia Pioneer

I think the biggest technological innovation that will impact Wikia – and the Internet more broadly – is the continuing progress we are seeing in reducing the costs of communication technology, such that it will reach the entire planet in relatively short order. Just think about what happens when the next billion people come online, and the next two billion after that.

Co-Founder of Wikipedia & Online Encyclopedia Pioneer