No matter what problem you encounter, whether it's a grand challenge for humanity or a personal problem of your own, there's an idea out there that can overcome it. And you can find that idea.
Interpretation
There is always a solution to every problem, big or small, waiting to be discovered.
Ray Kurzweil emphasizes the importance of optimism and perseverance in the face of challenges. Regardless of whether the issue is a widespread human concern or a private struggle, he suggests that innovative ideas exist to address them, and it is possible for individuals to uncover these solutions through exploration and determination.
In practice
In a motivational speech to encourage students to pursue creative solutions in their projects.
When I was a student at MIT, we all shared one computer and it took up a whole building. The computer in your cell phone today is a million times cheaper and a thousand times more powerful. What now fits in your pocket 25 years from now will fit into a blood cell and will again be millions of times more cost effective.
A successful person isn't necessarily better than her less successful peers at solving problems; her pattern-recognition facilities have just learned what problems are worth solving.
When you talk to a human in 2035, you'll be talking to someone that's a combination of biological and non-biological intelligence.
Mobile phones are misnamed. They should be called gateways to human knowledge.
I'm working on artificial intelligence. Actually, natural language understanding, which is to get computers to understand the meaning of documents.
So what used to fit in a building now fits in your pocket, what fits in your pocket now will fit inside a blood cell in 25 years.
Girls, we have to go 10 times harder than guys. We are still expected to give you the bars, give you the look, give you the routine. This is me - I wanna be a rapper, this is it.
Now is the only time there is. Make your now wow, your minutes miracles, and your days pay. Your life will have been magnificently lived and invested, and when you die you will have made a difference.
When I was young, my father used to say, ‘If you are alive, there is hope for a better day and something good to happen. If there is nothing good left in the destiny of a person, he or she will die.’ I thought about these words during my journey, and they kept me moving even when I didn’t know where I was going. Those words became the vehicle that drove my spirit forward and made it stay alive.
I won't say we have to win. I won't put that pressure. But we can't lose.
If you would attract good fortune, you must get rid of doubt. As long as that stands between you and your ambition, it will be a bar that will cut you off. You must have faith. No man can make a fortune while he is convinced that he can't.
There's only one way to become a hitter. Go up to the plate and get mad. Get mad at yourself and mad at the pitcher.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.