From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
There are situations that we could potentially change. However, due to habituation, we might not notice them as much. This also applies to societal issues like racism or sexism—because they've been present for so long, we might not notice them as much and therefore feel less motivated to address them.
Each person, regardless of their family, community, or public profile, has the capability to influence positively. It's not about consciously assuming a role but about living authentically and striving for personal best.
The rumour is often significantly more interesting than the facts. And the rumour is often very persuasive to the people who've heard it; they've heard it from somebody they trust. When the target says, 'No, that's not true,' the audience says, 'Oh, of course he or she would deny it,' and so it really puts the target at a disadvantage.
The French Revolution really is this incredible hinge in the story of Western political thought. For a long time, it was just taken for granted that the French Revolution was the starting point of political modernity.
Life is just receiving a rope from your parents. A rope of a certain quality, with a certain diameter and of a certain material. Your only duty is to take the rope and try to make a better one. Your only duty is to make the best rope you can for your children, for the next generation.
People are not born homophobic – or racist or misogynist. That's learned behaviour. This is why the current bid for LGBT-inclusive education in schools is so important.
Nobody should ever feel isolated, or like they have nowhere to turn. Whether it's at school, home, or in the workplace. Nobody should ever feel a cultural burden of silence around mental health challenges.
While a quantum computer could certainly cause significant economic and social disruption if used to break encryption, it does not pose the same kind of direct, physical threat to humanity as nuclear weapons. The situation is somewhat mitigated by the existence of quantum-resistant or post-quantum cryptographic schemes.
I don't think about myself as a woman in these contexts, I think about myself as a human. I feel like role model for all young people who wants to do science – not only girls.
GDP only catches a slice of the value that we value. It captures what goes on in the market, the financial value of goods and services sold in an economy over a year. We need to get away from the narrow, monetary, measure of GDP which asserts that economic value is the only thing we care about.
While it may seem an altogether preposterous notion that people should have to pay for air, a very basic component of life- one must read this hypothetical tale in context of the fact that over 1.7billion people cannot afford food (also a very basic component of life)- and a similar amount have little access to clean drinking water (another very basic component of life).
Pakistan has sought to reassure international donors that funds to help victims of its devastating flooding will not fall into extremists' hands. The Taliban would not be allowed to take advantage of the crisis to increase its support.