“I think intelligence is best understood as an entity that has the ability to improve a metric through repeated exposure over time. By that definition, machine learning algorithms are learning systems — they get better with more data and more exposures. A dog is a learning system. A cat is a learning system — you teach it a trick, reward it a few times, and it just does it from there on. And humans, of course, are the ultimate example of a learning system.”— Hon Weng Chong
The quote archive
A growing archive of 3,000+ moments, drawn from every interview.
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.
— Jim Al-KhaliliTheoretical physicist, author, and BBC science communicator known for public engagement
Quantum mechanics is the most radical break in our thinking of reality that we have ever encountered. Quantum mechanics comes along and says that whole experience is misleading, and that the best you can ever do is to predict the probabilities of outcomes.
— Brian GreeneTheoretical Physicist & Bestselling Author on String Theory & Cosmology
All you've got to do is- to their face- call yourself every name that they are harbouring about you, it's that simple; it means you're demonstrating understanding. The thing is, it may sound easy- but it's hard to do- but if you can do it- it can unlock a situation in a heartbeat.
— Chris VossFormer FBI Hostage Negotiator & Author of "Never Split the Difference
It's a myth that both sides of a negotiation have to be equally happy or unhappy. A great relationship is where people are happy- not just with how things are but with how they got to be.
— Chris VossFormer FBI Hostage Negotiator & Author of "Never Split the Difference
Mirroring is a crazy skill, it's so insanely effective. Just repeating the last 3 words of what someone said or picking out 1-3 words from the middle of the statement, can get you the outcome you need. Using mirroring, you feel like you can work Jedi mind tricks!
— Chris VossFormer FBI Hostage Negotiator & Author of "Never Split the Difference
You are as good as your highest level of preparation in any negotiation. In any negotiation, you develop trust by putting in time where you don't have any skin in the game; that means you need to watch negotiations happen- and get a feel for how it's done.
— Chris VossFormer FBI Hostage Negotiator & Author of "Never Split the Difference
Fundamentally; negotiation is about gathering information and processing it to be able to exert influence on an outcome. The best negotiators can do this in real-time through communication.
— Chris VossFormer FBI Hostage Negotiator & Author of "Never Split the Difference
An actor who isn't acting becomes a sort of non-person. If you're not acting, what are you?
— Sam NeillActor best known for Jurassic Park and The Piano films
There's also a danger in acting of identifying yourself as an actor. We have to try to identify ourselves as human beings first, and our jobs second. I'm Sam, I act sometimes… not I am Sam, I am an actor.
— Sam NeillActor best known for Jurassic Park and The Piano films
Authenticity- for me- is incredibly important. It's easy to spot the difference between acting and authentic performance- even though it may seem a contradiction in terms. You can tell when you see it, or when you experience it.
— Sam NeillActor best known for Jurassic Park and The Piano films
I've always been self-taught, sort of like the Grandma Moses of acting. If I'd gone to drama school, I would probably have had a very different career- perhaps not as much fun in some ways.
— Sam NeillActor best known for Jurassic Park and The Piano films
When social distrust mounts- when people feel like the game is rigged against them- they are especially vulnerable to demagogues who come along and want them to channel their rage, anxiety and distrust toward scapegoats.
— Robert ReichLabor Secretary & Economist; Leading Voice on Inequality
To be a billionaire in America today is less a matter of merit than it is a matter of being at the right place at the right time, and being a beneficiary of a set of rules designed to benefit billionaires.
— Robert ReichLabor Secretary & Economist; Leading Voice on Inequality
America has a class system, and it's becoming more rigid all the time. As inequality widens the ladder becomes so long that you have little hope of getting too far up it in your lifetime.
— Robert ReichLabor Secretary & Economist; Leading Voice on Inequality
It's not that capitalism is failing, but rather that the organisation of capitalism is succumbing to wealth and power. People with extraordinary power and wealth will organise and enforce markets in such a way that it benefits their wealth and adds to their power- it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy- a vicious cycle of more wealth and power.
— Robert ReichLabor Secretary & Economist; Leading Voice on Inequality
The hardest part of the job is telling those players that they are not playing, I remember from my playing days how that felt. This is when compassion is an important tool as well.
— Carlo AncelottiLegendary football manager with multiple Champions League titles