Michelangelo was asked by the pope about the secret of his genius, particularly how he carved the statue of David, largely considered the masterpiece… - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

This confirmation problem pervades our modern life, since most conflicts have at their root the following mental bias: when Arabs and Israelis watch news reports they see different stories in the same succession of events. Likewise, Democrats and Republicans look at different parts of the same data and never converge to the same opinions. Once your mind is inhabited with a certain view of the world, you will tend to only consider instances proving you to be right. Paradoxically, the more information you have, the more justified you will feel in your views.

The exponential information age is like a verbally incontinent person: he talks more and more as fewer and fewer people listen.

My motto has always been: Debate the audience, not the person. Don't even try to convince someone that he or she is wrong.