From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
I see games as psychology experiments that we conduct on ourselves. This realization struck me while playing Sudoku. When you first encounter Sudoku, you're acutely aware of the rules you're applying to solve the puzzle. It's a conscious effort, like turning a crank and watching the puzzle get solved. However, as you progress, those initial heuristics, those rules of thumb, become internalized. You stop being aware of them; they become second nature, and you start focusing on more subtle, higher-level heuristics.
Without what Becker called 'cultural world views' we would be overwhelmed by existential terror. Beliefs about reality that we share foster psychological equanimity by giving us a sense of meaning and value.
When the hydrogen bomb was first proposed in the early 1950's, the scientific panel in charge of US nuclear research recommended against it, unanimously. They called it a weapon of genocide whose only purpose would be to kill hundreds of thousands of civilians.
Based on my experience, I can say that healing is possible without forgiveness. It's perfectly valid for some people to choose never to forgive. There's a prevalent belief that forgiveness is necessary, as if something is wrong with you if you don't forgive. I disagree with this notion.
Disruption is treated as an event, and it is a constant and that is the interesting sort of fallacy. As humans we want this state of consistency but if we are taking it as a hypothesis, we are constantly being disrupted, constantly changing and the groundwork we are standing on is shifting all the time.
They have maternal instincts and look after each other as we do… it's not an intellectual thing when a mother protects her child; it's an instinctive behaviour. We value all those things in the human being because we are human beings! But that's pretty short sighted and narrow minded.
They help us to understand that there is no 'us' versus 'them', and that 'The Other' is, in fact, my brother, my sister; the other is me.
Comedy delivers the cerebral and the hyperbole, it can be funny and serious. Comedy is built on the idea of building pressure…. Building tension and then breaking it… a great punchline cuts after a ton of pressure you build up on a premise, and you know what? That's just how life works.
A little neglect may breed mischief …for want of a nail, the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost.
Individuality is my biggest fight, not #MeToo. People need to realise their own power, their own freedom, and their own ability to be better. My book Brave is not about #MeToo, but when I went on my first book tour – that was all people were asking me about; and once again, I had my narrative stolen – and I was portrayed as this figure, full of rage, because – perhaps – it's easier for people to not understand my narrative and write me off as angry, and that's a real shame.
A principle that I hold personally important is radical transparency in communication. This transparency extends from the shareholders to every level within the organization. It's vital that everyone is aware of what is working, what isn't, and the actions required for improvement.
I'm a school drop-out that is now teaching professors and doctors around the world; all because of a naïve woman's wish for her child to live.