Abstract Ideas applied to Complex Problems

A collection of aphorisms and quotes that got my attention.  "An idea not coupled with action will never get any bigger than the brain cell it occupied."   - Arnold H. Glasow "The big ones stop ruling, when the many little ones stop crawling!" "Die Großen hören auf zu herrschen, wenn die Kleinen aufhören zu kriechen." (orig.)  - Friedrich Schiller

The following post is based on the great book "From zero to one"  in which Peter Thiel and Blake Masters present their ideas about whats kind of entrepreneurship is needed to build a glorious future.  Optimist vs Pessimist There are basically two ways we can feel about the future: Either we are optimistic and feel the future is going to be better than the present or we are pessimistic and feel the future is going to be worse that the present. Determinate vs Indeterminate    The second question is concerned with the felt influence we have on the future. Does the future appear   determinate  meaning planable to a sufficiently high degree? Or do we think the future is indeterminate , we are "a lottery ticket", and have no influence on how our life will be tomorrow?  Based on how you feel about these two questions you will belong to one of the following groups: You are a  Determinate Optimist if you think the future is going to be great an...