Kevin Kelly Quotes

The technium is the way the universe has engineered its own self-awareness. ... The universe is mostly empty because it is waiting to be filled with the products of life and the technium, with questions and problems and the thickening relations between bits that we call con scientia—shared knowledge—or consciousness. And whether we like it or not, we stand at the fulcrum of the future. We are in part responsible for the evolution of this planet proceeding onward.

Anything real begins with the fiction of what could be. Imagination is therefore the most potent force in the universe. And you can get better at it. It’s the one skill in life that benefits from ignoring what everyone else knows.

With sharp things, always cut away from yourself.

Anything you say before the word “but” does not count.

As the old joke goes: “Software, free. User manual, $10,000.” But it’s no joke. A couple of high-profile companies, like Red Hat, Apache, and others make their living selling instruction and paid support for free software. The copy of code, being mere bits, is free. The lines of free code become valuable to you only through support and guidance. A lot of medical and genetic information will go this route in the coming decades. Right now getting a full copy of all your DNA is

Avoid making any kind of important decision when you are either hungry, angry, lonely, or tired (HALT). Just halt when you are HALT.

if Earth is reduced to the size of a bacteria, and inspected under high-powered optics, would it seem stranger than a virus?

Anything that can hold an electronic charge can hold a fiscal charge.

The power of self-replication is now found in four fields of high technology: geno, robo, info, and nano.

Don’t mistake a clear view of the future for a short distance.

The stronger your beliefs, the stronger your reasons
to question them regularly. Don’t simply believe everything
you think you believe.

Don’t purchase extra insurance if you are renting a car with a credit card.

We don't have a word for learning and teaching at the same time, but our schooling would improve if we did.

The real test of your character
is not how you deal with adversity — although that will teach you much. The real test is how you deal with power. The only cure for power is humility
and the admission that
your power comes from luck. The small person believes they are superior;
the superior person knows they are lucky.

Ask funders for money, and they’ll give you advice; but ask for advice, and they’ll give you money.