A Prayer for the Crown-Shy: A Monk and Robot Book (Monk & Robot 2)
Our relation to ideas is an inextricable symbiosis, like that between plant and pollinator, a mutualism in which neither can survive without the other. At the dawn of civilization, a covenant was made between humans and these alien entities that live in our minds—honor and respect each other and all will flourish beyond their wildest dreams.
Roger's Bacon • Ideas are Alive and You are Dead
If you went back in time to a prehistoric village and asked, “how do you solve the coincidence of wants problem?” they’d look at you strangely: “What? We don’t have that problem. If I need grain and my neighbour has it, he gives it to me, and then I owe him one.” This idea, “I owe him one”, is simple and powerful: the fundamental unit of commerce i... See more
Alex Danco • Debt: the First 5000 Years
There was a monk in the Buddha’s time, it is said, who originally came from an extremely wealthy aristocratic family. Because he had lived a very pampered life, he was ignorant about some of the simplest things, which made him the object of much teasing by the other monks. One day they asked him, “Where does rice come from, brother?” He replied, “I
... See moreLion’s Roar • Becoming the Ally of All Beings
a currency of generosity or something. It needs to be reciprocated in some way, in order for it to be sustainable.