“As we continue to push the boundaries of what is computationally possible, we are not just developing a new technology, but fundamentally expanding our understanding of the universe and our place within it.”
— Scott Aaronson
Theoretical computer scientist specializing in quantum computing and computational complexity

The quote archive

Wisdom in fragments

A growing archive of 3,000+ moments, drawn from every interview.

It's not just the internet which is contributing to these changes, its mobile and digital technology generally, it makes everyone a journalist. This is why the internet has blown apart the notion of journalism, because it gets rid of the gatekeepers.

— Gigi Sohn

FCC Nominee and Net Neutrality Advocate

The internet has had a tremendous positive impact because it's the most democratised and decentralised medium ever known. Along comes the internet, and it changes all that, it puts the power of communication in everyone's hand, at least everyone who can afford access.

— Gigi Sohn

FCC Nominee and Net Neutrality Advocate

In a highly emotive and risk-averse market, rationality seems to fall by the wayside, with investors trigger-happy to pull immense volumes of liquidity out of assets at the earliest risk warning.

— Not Available

Politically and practically, the Euro Zone nations cannot be seen to bail-out Greece. Not only would this set a potentially dangerous precedent, but it could also affect the overall financial stability of the system itself.

— Not Available

Our nations cannot exist independently, we are intrinsically linked to the global economy, and another-nations problems will, invariably, affect us.

— Not Available

The USD is the world's most liquid currency, used as the tool of choice for global finance. It is for that reason that we, as observers, must pay great attention to policy changes such as this.

— Not specified

The modifications are not expected to lead to tighter financial conditions for households and businesses and do not signal any change in the outlook for the economy or for monetary policy.

— Federal Reserve

Central bank system managing US monetary policy and financial stability

The Federal Reserve has, historically, used the discount rate as a tool to 'test' market reactions to monetary policy. We are in extremely volatile markets, and raising the discount rate allows the Fed to observe the reaction their actions will have once they are reflected in the core 'Funds Rate'.

— Not specified

When Tiananmen Square happened, tanks were sent in to deal with them. It's not a joke. Do whatever it takes to stay united… People in front of tanks were crushed. The unity of China is more important than those people in Tiananmen Square. Anyone who undermines the constitution shall be put to death

— Libyan leader

Toyota's reputation for long-term quality is finished. People aren't going to buy Toyotas, period. It doesn't matter which model. What's happened is sufficient to keep people out of the stores.

— Maryann Keller

Automotive industry analyst and consultant, known for expertise in car manufacturing.

For commercial markets, a shift to collaborative economies is not far behind, and businesses must change their thinking about the nature competition, defending value, and other strategies if they wish to grow in an uncertain future.

— Unknown

Participants in each market, faced with threats, had to put competitive behaviour aside and realise the strength of collaboration.

— Unknown

Yahoo Inc. is aligned with Google in condemning the kind of cyber attacks that Google Inc. said Tuesday it experienced from China.

— Yahoo Spokeswoman

The proposed link-up between Microsoft and Yahoo has been approved by European regulators, paving the way for the two companies to combine their search engines and take on Google together.

— Unknown

It is the sinusoidal movement of economies between stage 1 and stage 2 which contributes to growth, while the participants in stage 3 very rarely contribute to any real economic growth as their entire theatre is virtual.

— Unknown

Fundamentally, the real way to tackle bubble-formation is through careful understanding and regulation of how financial products are created and traded, not necessarily regulating the capital structure of the markets themselves.

— Unknown