"Silicon Valley entrepreneurs mostly view cultural, institutional, governance and even dating issues as technology challenges waiting to be solved. But the challenge and promise of a new future must be addressed holistically. The creations coming out of Silicon Valley in the form of apps, devices and software platforms are not so much facilitating a 'race against the machines,' but a race against our own social institutions, values and practices, and that is the future." Photo: Dejan http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/07/22/is-silicon-valley-saving-the-world-or-just-making-money/innovation-is-happening-faster-than-we-can-adapt
"We’re only here for a short while. And I think it’s such a lucky accident, having been born, that we’re almost obliged to pay attention. In some ways, this is getting far afield. I mean, we are — as far as we know — the only part of the universe that’s self-conscious. We could even be the universe’s form of consciousness. We might have come along so that the universe could look at itself. I don’t know that, but we’re made of the same stuff that stars are made of, or that floats around in space. But we’re combined in such a way that we can describe what it’s like to be alive, to be witnesses. Most of our experience is that of being a witness. We see and hear and smell other things. I think being alive is responding." Mark Strand (1934–2014)
"The online learning partnership offsets some of the disadvantages that can come with being a high-achieving student in a small, isolated school district, providing the chance to take challenging academic courses that many schools can't offer."