Wisdom in fragments

The rules of the brain are such that the chimp can freeze our brain, freezing the human out and can make decisions on our behalf.

Psychiatrist and author of "The Chimp Paradox

Robustness is being in a good place and having a plan, resilience is being able to implement that plan and stay in a good place.

Psychiatrist and author of "The Chimp Paradox

Emotions are like the reward (or punishment) the brain gives us for getting what we need, want, or could be harmed by.

Psychiatrist and author of "The Chimp Paradox

If you know what's inside your head and you understand its structures, rules, and functions, it avoids glitches. You can almost think of it like three sock puppets! You, this little chimp, and a computer, trying to run your life.

Psychiatrist and author of "The Chimp Paradox

If only one-quarter melted, it would lead to a 2-metre rise in sea-levels all over the world and would threaten thousands of cities and towns on every continent.

Former President of Iceland (1996-2016)

The old diplomatic model where only representatives of states have a formal role cannot work in today's world. We need open, democratic platforms that allow everyone to participate – it could be a young activist or a business leader, it could be a scientist or an indigenous leader.

Former President of Iceland (1996-2016)

The most common misunderstanding is that the Arctic is just a frozen wilderness with a lot of ice and glaciers and a few polar bears roaming. On the contrary the Arctic is a very diverse part of our planet with multiple resources and economic opportunities, the home for over four million people of different nationalities and diverse ethnic origin.

Former President of Iceland (1996-2016)

The ice is neither left nor right, it is neither Republican nor Democrat, it is simply melting. The consequences of the sea ice melting are enormous and will be felt everywhere from Texas to China.

Former President of Iceland (1996-2016)

With technology, we're creating a lot more hammers – and with more hammers, we're able to find more nails. The question is whether those hammers are being made for the right purposes, and whether they will serve the right purpose.

Super-specialisation at the expense of a breadth of knowledge is a modern-day fallacy. If you're super-specialised in one particular area, at the expense of that breadth, you are quite likely to make errors in other, bigger fields.

What was impossible 20 years ago, is possible today. What is impossible today, will be possible x-years from now. We are always in change.

You need to know the reason you're there at that surgical table with a knife in your hand. You have to be clear that you are using these sophisticated tools (tools which can cause a lot of harm) to fundamentally and primarily help that entity, that child in front of you.

Surgery, like many other disciplines, is primarily about facts, your relationship with the facts, how you manage, handle, interpret and use those facts. This is something we all begin to do very early in life, in our childhood.

We all have the opportunity to be on the level of Da Vinci or Franklin because we all have access to so many different forms of knowledge. Those who study philosophy, the arts and sciences together can make connections at that very high level.

Author of "The 48 Laws of Power" & Strategist

By our nature, we are all self-absorbed, irrational, short-sighted. You have to have some humility in life before you can begin to understand yourself, and before you can begin to change yourself, the world, or other people.

Author of "The 48 Laws of Power" & Strategist

We have these myths about genius. We think those people have extra powers that we don't... that they were born differently... that they went to the right schools. I wanted to demystify this process. If you don't understand the process, you will never, ever, get there.

Author of "The 48 Laws of Power" & Strategist