“But the chief advantage of language is not communication but autogeneration. Language is a trick that allows the mind to question itself ; a magic mirror that reveals to the mind what the mind thinks; a handle that turns a mind into a tool. With a grip on the slippery, aimless activity of…”Tagged: Chaos, Communication, Language, Narrative, Organizational Systems
“We are reaching deep within ourselves to adjust the master knob. We are messing with our source code, including the code that grows our brains and makes our minds. Gene splicing, genetic engineering, and gene therapy have given our minds direct control of our genes, ending a four-billion-year…”Tagged: Evolution, Technology
“About 2,500 years ago most of humanity's major religions were set in motion in a relatively compact period. Confucius, Lao-tzu, Buddha, Zoroaster, the authors of the Upanishads, and the Jewish patriarchs all lived within a span of 20 generations. Only a few major religions have been born since then.…”Tagged: Axial Age, Technology, Theology
“The lowest-paid burger flipper working at McDonald's is in many respects better off than King Henry or any of the richest people living not too long ago. Although the burger flipper barely makes enough to pay the rent, he or she can afford many things that King Henry could not. King Henry's wealth —…”Tagged: Progress, Technology
“Small animals live fast and die young. Big animals plod along. The speed of life for animals—the rate at which their cells burn energy, the speed of their muscle twitches, the time it takes them to gestate or to mature—is remarkably proportional to their life span and size.”Tagged: Animals, Lifespans
“Not too long ago TV Guide had a million subscribers who paid the magazine to point them to the best shows on TV. These shows, it is worth noting, were free to the viewers. TV Guide allegedly made more money than all three major TV networks it 'guided' combined.”Tagged: Television, Media Cliff Notes, Economics of Discovery, Portals Of Understnading, Organizing Data
“Banning the inevitable usually backfires. Prohibition is at best temporary, and in the long run counterproductive.”Tagged: Censorship, Banning, Methods of Control
“I do think we’ll have designer babies in the future. I’m not so sure people will want blue-eyed babies when they can make green or purple.”Tagged: Tim Podcast, Designer Babies, Future, Blue Eyes