To Dismiss The Current Extinction Wave On

Two Types Of Choices Seem To Me To Have Been Crucial In Tipping The Outcomes [of The Various Societies' Histories] Towards Success Or Failure: Long-term Planning And Willingness To Reconsider Core Values. On Reflection We Can Also Recognize The Crucial Role Of These Same Two Choices For The Outcomes Of Our Individual Lives.

With The Macarthur Grant, I Realized That People Have High Expectations Of Me, That They Were Placing Me In This Group Of Achievers. I Compared What Id Actually Achieved In My Life With What I Would Like To Achieve And What Other People Have Achieved, And I Found That Comparison Depressing.

We Scientists Have Fantasies Of Being Uniquely Qualified To Make Great Discoveries. Alas, Reality Is Cruel: Most Of Us Are Replaceable. For The Vast Majority Of Scientific Contributions, If Scientist X Hadn't Achieved It That Year, Scientist Y Would Have Achieved The Same Result Or Something Very Similar Soon Thereafter.

Technology Has To Be Invented Or Adopted.

Lest Those Islands Still Seem To You Too Remote In Space And Time To Be Relevant To Our Modern Societies, Just Think About The Risks... Of Our Increasing Globalization And Increasing Worldwide Economic Interdependence.