“That which we allow to exist, to flourish freely according to its own rhythms, is superior to anything our little hands create.”
― William Powers (1926-2013)
"Purpose … was the first phenomenon of life: the first step from a universe in which entropy and chaos held sway toward one in which purposes residing in organisms direct external physical processes and create new physical relationships”.
― William Powers (1926-2013)
“This is how social change ultimately happens: enlightened values do not change behavior; the contours of self-interest are altered and new values rush into the vacuum.”
― William Powers (1926-2013)
“Someday, it will be hard to remember why we were once so fired up about 3G connectivity and the wonders of mobile broadband. Seamless, lightning-fast connectedness will be a given everywhere on Earth, and today's gadgets will be quaint museum pieces. At that point, all we'll care about is what kind of life these devices have created for us. And if it isn't a good life, we'll wonder what we did wrong.”
― William Powers (1926-2013)
“Rather than allowing external forces to define how we feel inside, each of us can be our own thermostat.”
― William Powers (1926-2013)
“When discussing relatively “poorer” countries, we need to make a clear, explicit distinction between people living in a state of material destitution and people living healthy subsistence lifestyles. Terms like poverty and Third World mask this distinction and give license for modern professionals — of whom I’ve long been one — to undervalue, denigrate, and interfere with sustainable ways of life.”
― William Powers (1926-2013)
“When a crowd adopts a point of view en masse, all critical thinking stops.”
― William Powers (1926-2013)