Wisdom in fragments

We have turned life into a business model- and have somewhat forgotten the reciprocity we have with nature rather; we just see it as a resource. We have maintained societies for thousands of years based on a reciprocal relationship with nature, and we need to get back to that and need to have respect for our fellow earthlings rather than seeing them as products.

Canadian science broadcaster and host of Discovery Channel's Daily Planet

In the 21st century, there are cameras everywhere except for where our food and energy come from, and where our waste goes. We are the most powerful species in the world, but we remain blind to the fundamentals that allow us to survive. How are we blind to our life support system?

Canadian science broadcaster and host of Discovery Channel's Daily Planet

We're outnumbered by bacteria 1.3:1, we're slightly more bacteria than we are human. We're also stardust. We are also 60% water, and that water in our bodies is billions of years old; it's been the clouds, the bottom of the sea, waves, streams and everything in the cycle. At an atomic level, 98% of the hydrogen in our bodies came from the bigbang. We're incredibly ancient beings, perhaps we should see ourselves as aliens!

Canadian science broadcaster and host of Discovery Channel's Daily Planet

Our senses allow us to perceive, but they're incredibly limited. Science sees far beyond our human blind spots, and the reaches of this 'bubble' our senses create for us. When you're in a bubble, you inhabit a form of fictional reality, and we've seen the dangerous consequences of this in financial bubbles, stock market bubbles, real estate bubbles… If you're not paying attention reality comes crashing in.

Canadian science broadcaster and host of Discovery Channel's Daily Planet

The rest of the world sees us as the country who had the biggest empire in the world, we don't. That creates a gap in understanding.

British journalist and author, wrote "The Boy with the Topknot

White people have nothing to fear from understanding their history- they're not responsible for it. It's like having therapy… it's understanding our past behaviours so that we don't repeat them. I think we need to face up to our imperial history for the same reasons.

British journalist and author, wrote "The Boy with the Topknot

The idea that if you are proud to be British you need to be proud of British history is nonsensical. Does it mean you have to be proud of all of history? Of slavery? Of abolition of you? Or me? Or Lenny Henry? You might as well be proud of biology or jelly. It makes no sense…

British journalist and author, wrote "The Boy with the Topknot

It's really complicated to work-out how much of our wealth came from empire, it's like trying to take the egg out of a baked cake. It's better to look at individual wealth and businesses.

British journalist and author, wrote "The Boy with the Topknot

We have a very strange relationship with empire, a combination of selective amnesia and nostalgia. The amnesia comes from the fact we mostly identify as the nation that won World War 2 not as the nation which had the greatest empire in human history. That helps us forget that there was at least a century where we were quite massively white supremacist and sometimes genocidal.

British journalist and author, wrote "The Boy with the Topknot

The learnings I had as an athlete about communication and motivation- and even how we worked with companies and brands- really have helped me in this new journey but most important has been the realisation that I have to stay true to myself, and find that same passion and focus in entrepreneurship as I did in athletics.

British Olympic heptathlon champion and gold medalist

Ultimately, you have to fail at some stage with whatever you do, to get the successes that you need in the end.

British Olympic heptathlon champion and gold medalist

You can have athletes that are at their physical peak but without the right mental resilience and approach, their performance will not be where it needs to. I've focused on that a lot through my career- learning through experiences and trying to keep a perspective on what I'd achieved previously.

British Olympic heptathlon champion and gold medalist

There's so much data that's been collected around fitness, but a lot of this has been based on male subjects and isn't always right to apply to women. Having been through the journey myself, I want to help more women become body-literate and motivated to enjoy exercise.

British Olympic heptathlon champion and gold medalist

There are so many times we see women offered fitness opportunities to look good. It's the bikini guides and all those other things… In reality, there's so much more to understanding how women exercise, what helps them train effectively, and why exercise matters during key stages in life such as pregnancy.

British Olympic heptathlon champion and gold medalist

I couldn't believe you could spend so much time working for something, without knowing it would happen, and then it happened. I came off track and remember looking around thinking someone was about to tell me that I'd been disqualified or that it was an error- I just couldn't believe that everything had come together, and I'd won that medal.

British Olympic heptathlon champion and gold medalist

I think life matters because it gives meaning to the universe. Without life, the universe is devoid of meaning. We aren't the universe, but we are a vital part of it, we are what gives this universe meaning.

British Astronaut & ISS Expedition Commander