Those who criticise China have a case to complain about the contributory role the country's authoritarian system played in the spread of the pandemic, but that very system also allowed authorities to get a quick grip on it and bring it under control with impressive efficiency.

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. Whatever adjective from your culture best describes the worst possible name they could think of for you- all you've got to do is look them in the eye and say you feel I am – that's super simple, right? 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.

Money is a cultural abstract. It is the social, cultural and legal consensus of what a given society- at a given time- considers as being money.

African music more broadly is about rhythm, it's so addictive when you listen to it. People dance from 10 pm to 10 am without really stopping much – it's not complicated harmonies, it's about rhythm and connection. It's like a trance – you get hooked.

When you fail, you take ownership of the failure, and then you assess what mistakes were made, what could be done differently, what better instructions you could have given, what better support you could have given, then you fix those problems, move on and try again, simple.

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.

There are various forms of hostage-taking, each with distinct characteristics. Broadly speaking, one can categorise them into political and criminal hostage-takings. Political hostage-taking involves abducting someone to gain a political leverage—this is the first type. The second type is criminal hostage-taking, where the motive is ransom. Both types are illegal, as forcibly detaining someone is a criminal act, but the distinction helps clarify the underlying motives.

I recall attending an annual event at the Albert Hall hosted by the Institute of Directors. The chairman, at 75, admitted he'd changed his mind—success, he concluded, truly lies in your ability to connect and resonate emotionally with people, thereby inspiring them to action.

A single super large combo meal at any popular hamburger outlet will contain a full day's worth of calorie intake. When one sees such meals being purchased and eaten, one wonders whether the individual concerned is going to consume only water for the next 24 hours.

The first thing to do for our ecology is not to use less electricity, it's to cease buying things that are not useful.

STS-93, the mission where we launched the Chandra telescope, was conceived 25 years before we launched it. Someone had that vision long before it became a reality. This long-term perspective is essential.

Osborne lacked gravitas and was seen as a political lightweight because of his high-pitched vocal delivery according to private Conservative polling before the election.