“Although humans have existed on this planet for perhaps 2 million years, the rapid climb to modern civilization within the last 200 years was possible due to the fact that the growth of scientific knowledge is exponential; that is, its rate of expansion is proportional to how much is already known. The more we know, the faster we can know more. For example, we have amassed more knowledge since World War II than all the knowledge amassed in our 2-million-year evolution on this planet. In fact, the amount of knowledge that our scientists gain doubles approximately every 10 to 20 years.” KnowsWorldYearsHumansWarFactsLastsGrowthKnownMillionsModernExamplePlanetsEvolutionAmountCivilizationGainsScientistRateDuesFasterWar Of The WorldsClimbsWorld War IiWorld War IExpansionRapidsScientific KnowledgeMore KnowledgeModern Civilization Author:Michio Kaku
“In any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people: those who work to further the actual goals of the organization, and those who work for the organization itself. Examples in education would be teachers who work and sacrifice to teach children, vs. union representative who work to protect any teacher including the most incompetent. The Iron Law states that in all cases, the second type of person will always gain control of the organization, and will always write the rules under which the organization functions.” PeopleWritingKindChildrenPersonsTwoStatesWould BeLawGoalTeachCasesTeacherSacrificeExampleTypeProtectGainsOrganizationFunctionUnionsIncludingInvestingIronRepresentativesIncompetent Author:Jerry Pournelle
“Technology is probably the single biggest driver of productivity gains for the developed countries. For example, I think it's much more important than free trade.” ThinkingImportantCountryTechnologyExampleGainsTradeProductivityDriversFree TradeDeveloped Country Author:Peter Thiel
“For the purpose of acquiring gain, everything else is pushed aside or thrown overboard, for example, as is philosophy by the professors of philosophy.” PhilosophyPurposeExampleGainsThrownProfessorsOverboard Author:Arthur Schopenhauer
“We continually make decisions in private which affect the commonweal, as the ecologists (to take but one example) have shown us. When I keep my house warmer than it needs to be, I consume fuel which might help someone else keep warm, or keep a job. When the food I eat is high on the protein chain I contribute to a maldistribution of protein around the world. When I teach my children to be primarily concerned with private gain, I diminish the ranks of public leadership in the rising generation.” WorldNeedsChildrenHelpingMightJobsHouseDecisionTeachGenerationsExampleGainsConcernedEnvironmentalWarmChainsAround The WorldMy ChildrenRisingFuelSustainabilityDiminishProtein Author:Parker J. Palmer
“American girls are much more financially savvy - for example, if a girl went to Paris and she was going to do a fragrance campaign, she would say she wouldn't do it for less than half-a-million dollars. Whereas a girl from the Czech Republic would do it for $100,000. I think that's a really big imbalance that created the demise of the modeling industry - and it also created a gap in giving girls an opportunity to become or gain super-status.” IfsThinkingGivingBigsGirlOpportunityHalfMillionsExampleIndustryGainsDollarsCampaignsParisGapsRepublicFragranceModelingMillion DollarsDemiseImbalanceSavvyCzechCzech RepublicModeling Industry Author:Michael Flutie
“And your brain doesn't naturally know how to think the way Zeckhauser knows how to play bridge. "for example," people do not react symmetrically to loss and gain. Well maybe a great bridge player like Zeckhauser does, but that's a trained response. Ordinary people, subconsciously affected by their inborn tendencies.” PeopleThinkingKnowsWayWellsDoePlayLossBrainKnow HowPlayerExampleOrdinaryGainsResponseTendenciesBridgesAffectedOrdinary People Author:Charlie Munger
“God gave us cats so that we would have an example of how we treat Him-mainly that we totally ignore Him as we go about our lives, but when we want something we will start to purr and figuratively rub ourselves against His legs to gain His attention for our wants.” WantAttentionOur LivesExampleGainsCatTreatsLegsWant Something Author:Jeff Miller