Wisdom in fragments

Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were play attention games – they reward creators with 'status points,' likes, retweets and quote tweets for example. Those rewards come to those who are best at monopolising attention… that's not the same thing as telling the truth or acting in good faith. The things that get rewarded in those systems are things that provoke, divide and drive outrage – so we end up with a broken media economy that drives us all crazy and doesn't represent the best version of ourselves.

My dad always said you can't win until you don't care. That's how I approached it. My goal was to ski the best I could, as fast as I could, and I didn't care. I would rather crash than come to the finish line knowing I could have done better.

Olympic Alpine Skier with Most World Cup Wins by Female Athlete

This might sound strange, but I've never been 'afraid.' I've certainly been nervous- very nervous- but I've never been afraid. That's what has allowed me to come back from injuries- I'm not afraid of the consequences. I know the risks, I accept the risks, but I'm not afraid of the risks.

Olympic Alpine Skier with Most World Cup Wins by Female Athlete

It's only a failure if you don't learn from your mistakes, right? I was always able to find some way of making every adversity into something positive, even if I was physically no longer the athlete I was, I became mentally stronger. I used every adversity and changed it into something positive.

Olympic Alpine Skier with Most World Cup Wins by Female Athlete

Success are not determined by who is the smartest in the room- it's determined by who's willing to make the sacrifices to succeed. When most people have an adversity they think, 'oh, I can't do this anymore…. I'm not good enough…' what we are taught to think is, 'oh hey, there's a brick wall, what's my way through, over, around or under it…'

Olympic Alpine Skier with Most World Cup Wins by Female Athlete

My 90 seconds with Picabo changed my life. You'd be surprised how many kids have parents and peers around there who tell them they can't, I want to tell them they can.

Olympic Alpine Skier with Most World Cup Wins by Female Athlete

I was only 9 years old, but I loved ski racing. I loved skiing in general, and was lucky enough to meet my idol, Picabo Street. I met her at an autograph signing at a ski shop in Minnesota, and I said that's it… that's what I want to do… and this is who I want to be like. From then on, I made ski racing my focus, and my dad helped me create a ten-year plan to make the next Olympics.

Olympic Alpine Skier with Most World Cup Wins by Female Athlete

We have learned that the things that matter are not the physical, and material things. What matters in life is hope. Tomorrow is not a given, and we must be happy about small things and we must seize the day.

Ukrainian politician and head of Servant of the People party faction

Hope is the only choice I have. What gives me hope is that people are able to find love and humanity in their hearts in spite of everything that is happening here in Ukraine.

Ukrainian politician and head of Servant of the People party faction

If Putin succeeds in Ukraine, it will show that democracy and the world's forces are not enough to stop him. Are we building a world where the rule of law means something? Or a world where the rule of law means nothing, and only firepower counts.

Ukrainian politician and head of Servant of the People party faction

We're afraid of living under constant terrorism, and the constant threat of a neighbour who wants to kill you and destroy everything you care about. The escalation is already here. He has already reached a point of escalation that we must not tolerate – he is already doing everything he is capable of.

Ukrainian politician and head of Servant of the People party faction

Our story, our fight, the story of President Zelenskyy… these all come together in the story of how everyone is capable of more than the world expects of them, and what we expected of ourselves. It's only when we were asked what price we were prepared to pay that we found the truth; we were prepared to pay with our lives.

Ukrainian politician and head of Servant of the People party faction

You probably know your cholesterol level. You know your heart rate, your resting heart rate, the number of steps that you take per day. But most people have absolutely no idea what is happening inside their brains other than through self-reflection. So the ability to quantify that and give people direct access to information about what's happening to their brains could be radically transformational.

Neuroethicist & Duke Law professor specializing in neurorights and genetics policy

Deep fakes, are probably the most chilling example to me of it, as if you take a politician's face and you use deep fake technology to slightly change it in ways that are imperceptible to the politician and to you, the observer, but that make the face just change enough to make your brain trust and like that image of that person.

Neuroethicist & Duke Law professor specializing in neurorights and genetics policy

All you have to do is walk through an airport, for example, and notice that it is very difficult to navigate through it. You will encounter humans (almost statue like) who are glued – looking at their mobile phones, unaware of what is happening around them, because they are addicted to their technology. That is by design that people are addicted to technology.

Neuroethicist & Duke Law professor specializing in neurorights and genetics policy

Mill has this thoughtful chapter on freedom of thought, but it is all based on the assumption that you have the ability to think freely inside your mind and that part can't be penetrated. We are very porous now, and it isn't just through neurotechnology, it is through all modes of technology that are designed to interpret and change our cognitive and effective functioning.

Neuroethicist & Duke Law professor specializing in neurorights and genetics policy