“Good theories of the mind must span at least three different scales of time: slow, for the billions of years in which our brains have survivied; fast, for the fleeting weeks and months of childhood; and in between, the centuries of growth of our ideas through history.” YearsMindIdeasDifferentThreeGrowthBrainWeekChildhoodCenturyTheoryMonthsBillionsScalesFleeting Author:Marvin Minsky
“Most of us still believe in the intrinsic value of nature, but I think the first century of the environmental/conservation movement demonstrated pretty clearly that this value cannot compel a civilization-wide shift toward sustainable behavior and enterprise when stacked up against the urgent economic and social needs of 7 billion people, most of whom are struggling to get out of poverty.” PeopleThinkingNeedsFirstsBelieveStillsValuesSocialPovertyStruggleEconomicCenturyMovementCivilizationBehaviorEnvironmentalWideBillionsEnterpriseConservationUrgentIntrinsic Value Author:Edward Norton
“When I care about something, I care about something. I think I have an obligation as an American to - and as a citizen, as - as a human being, to help others. Smoking is going to kill a billion people this century. I've put six hundred million dollars from my own money into trying to stop the tobacco companies from getting kids to smoke and convincing adults that it's not in their health.” PeopleThinkingTryingHumansHelpingCareKidsMy OwnHuman BeingsCompanyMillionsCenturyCitizensSixHundredAdultsDollarsBillionsHelping OthersObligationSmokeSmokingI CareConvincingMillion DollarsTobacco Author:Michael Bloomberg
“I often reflect on what an extraordinary time (pun intended) it is to be alive here in the beginning of the twenty-first century. It took life billions of years to get to this point. It took humans thousands of years to piece together a meaningful understanding of our cosmos, our planet and ourselves. Think how fortunate we are to know this much. But think also of all that's yet to be discovered. Here's hoping the deep answers to the deep questions-from the nature of consciousness to the origin of life-will be found in not too much more time.” ThinkingKnowsYearsFirstsHumansTogetherFoundUnderstandingAnswersConsciousnessToo MuchPiecesAliveCenturyPlanetsTwentiesExtraordinaryBillionsMeaningfulFortunateCosmosMore TimeOur PlanetPunOrigin Of Life Book:Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation Source: Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation
“That is the onslaught. It has been going on a long time, I argue, but in the 20th century humans have certainly perfected it, extending domination to every single corner of the earth and our Homo sapiens population to more than 6 billion - until no place is untouched by despoliation.” HumansLongHas BeensEarthCenturyLong TimePopulationCornersArguingBillions20th CenturyDominationHomo SapiensExtending Author:Kirkpatrick Sale
“At the beginning of the 20th century, there were less than 3 billion people on the earth, closer to 2 billion. By all measures that we can come up with right now,. with the lifestyle and consumption pattern of the Western industrial civilization, we can probably sustain about 2 billion people on this earth. We already have over 6 billion. China and India are aspiring to come on as industrial nations, aspiring to the lifestyle of the Western world, and it simply can't happen.” PeopleWorldHappensEarthNationsCenturyCivilizationRight NowIndiaWesternPatternsCome UpChinaBillionsLifestyleConsumption20th CenturyWestern WorldChina And India Author:Edgar Mitchell