Continue readingEven the effects already discovered are due to chance and experiment rather than to the sciences; for our present sciences are nothing more than peculiar arrangements of matters already discovered, and not methods for discovery or plans for new operations.
Aphorism VIII. Francis Bacon, Novum Organum, Book 1, 1620
Category: Quotes
The secret of our success
The secret of our species’ success resides not in the power of our individual minds, but in the collective brains of our communities. Our collective brains arise from the synthesis of our cultural and social natures—from the fact that we readily learn from others (are cultural) and can, with the right norms, live in large and widely interconnected groups (are social). The striking technologies that characterize our species […] emerge not from singular geniuses but from the flow and recombination of ideas, practices, lucky errors, and chance insights among interconnected minds and across generations.
— From Chapter 1, “A Puzzling Primate”, in “The Secret of our Success” Henrich, Joseph Patrick. The Secret of Our Success: How Culture Is Driving Human Evolution, Domesticating Our Species, and Making Us Smarter. Princeton University Press, 2016.
Continue reading“Tiger, one day you will come to a fork in the road,” he said. “And you’re going to have to make a decision about which […]
Continue readingHenry Ford, My Life and Work
Business men go down with their businesses because they like the old way so well they cannot bring themselves to change. One sees them all […]
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