Half a century ago, medicine was neither costly nor effective. Since then, however, science has combatted our ignorance. It has enumerated and identified, according to the international disease-classification system, more than 13,600 diagnoses—13,600 different ways our bodies can fail. And for each one we’ve discovered beneficial remedies—remedies that can reduce suffering, extend lives, and sometimes stop a disease altogether. But those remedies now include more than six thousand drugs and four thousand medical and surgical procedures. Our job in medicine is to make sure that all of this capability is deployed, town by town, in the right way at the right time, without harm or waste of resources, for every person alive. And we’re struggling. There is no industry in the world with 13,600 different service lines to deliver.
‘The Velluvial Matrix’ by Atul Gawande in The New Yorker
Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.
Albert Camus (via thechocolatebrigade)
reblogged from thechocolatebrigade
What is the hedonic opportunity cost of spending 6 billion pounds on a load of railway tracks? Here’s my naive advertising man’s suggestion: what you should in fact do is employ all of the world’s top male and female supermodels, and pay them to walk the length of the train handing out free Chateau Petrus for the entire duration of the journey. You’ll still have about 3 billion pounds left over and people will actually ask for the train to be slowed down.
From Ogilvy UK vice-chairman Rory Sutherland’s fantastic TED talk, ‘Life lessons from an ad man’.
Anyone who evaluates economic choices in terms of “hedonic opportunity cost” has got my vote.
Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.
Arthur Schopenhauer (via kari-shma, quote-book, tigs, wearethedigitalkids)
reblogged from wearethedigitalkids
One man cannot do right in one department of life whilst he is occupied in doing wrong in any other department. Life is one indivisible whole.
Gandhi
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
Aristotle (via somethingchanged)
reblogged from somethingchanged
In times of change learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.
Eric Hoffer (via somethingchanged)
reblogged from somethingchanged
Creativity is a renewable resource.
Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter giving his 5 word speech at the Webby awards.
