“In Silicon Valley there's a sense that there are 30 individuals who are 10x more capable than most people, it's like a power law scaling of talent... founders get immense leeway, capital rushes toward them... it also creates biases and situations where founders have more power than they should in their company.”

— Nicholas Thompson

Editor-in-Chief of Wired Magazine & Cybersecurity Expert

The quote archive

Wisdom in fragments

A growing archive of 3,000+ moments, drawn from every interview.

it is our knowledge that we have to die that makes us human

— Alexander Smith

People knew they were risking their lives going out for George Floyd, for #BLM. People were sure that they were risking death when building mutual aid webs or asking for dignity on the streets. People are choosing humanity, dignity, freedom and equality as ideals even when they perceive a risk of dying.

— Ece Temelkuran

Turkish journalist, author, and political commentator known for critical writings on democracy

Power requires oppression. In order to be powerful, you have to stand upon something. Strength comes from within. We are seeing the emergence of new political organisms with strength not power at the core. From Moscow to Hong Kong and India to the United States, powerless organisations are creating strong governance without power.

— Ece Temelkuran

Turkish journalist, author, and political commentator known for critical writings on democracy

The idea of dialogue is overrated- sometimes you have to fight. There are certain issues we mustn't depoliticise, sometimes we must fight, and sometimes that fight is physical… that's just reality. As for 'building bridges' with fascists, sometimes there are no bridges, you cannot befriend someone who is trying to kill you.

— Ece Temelkuran

Turkish journalist, author, and political commentator known for critical writings on democracy

Our system has never defined what it means to be 'good' – what is the ideal human being in capitalism? Is it Jeff Bezos? Is it Steve Jobs? They thrived, they profited, are they 'moral'? The ideal human profile of capitalism does not fit with our basic human dignity.

— Ece Temelkuran

Turkish journalist, author, and political commentator known for critical writings on democracy

The will to live together is the fundamental pillar that keeps society going- and that pillar is now under threat. This new messy form of fascism that we have been subjected to in several countries is damaging these fundaments. We are losing the will to live together… What will we do when we lose the will to live together? That's one of the fundamental questions of our time.

— Ece Temelkuran

Turkish journalist, author, and political commentator known for critical writings on democracy

Even in those very difficult moments, I had enough freedom to choose who I wanted to be in the face of that circumstance. For all of us, the challenge is to rise above our experiences and make choices to choose light over darkness.

— Ingrid Betancourt