Nuclear energy, in terms of an overall safety record, is better than other energy.
Bill GatesRead
The media covers what’s new – and millions of people dying is nothing new. So it stays in the background, where it’s easier to ignore. But even when we do see it or read about it, it’s difficult to keep our eyes on the problem. It’s hard to look at suffering if the situation is so complex that we don’t know how to help. And so we look away.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes how the media often overlooks ongoing suffering due to its complex nature, leading people to ignore serious issues.
Bill Gates expresses a profound observation about the media's focus on the 'new' and how the ongoing suffering of millions can become background noise in public consciousness. He highlights the difficulty people face in confronting complex problems, which often leads to a tendency to look away rather than engage with these issues. This reflection invites us to consider our own reactions to suffering and the societal mechanisms that allow such issues to be ignored.
Themes
MediaSufferingComplexityIgnoranceAwareness
In practice
Example use cases
During a charity event, to emphasize the importance of keeping global suffering in view.
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With the states release today of a set of clear and consistent academic standards, our nation is one step closer to supporting effective teaching in every classroom, charting a path to college and careers for all students, and developing the tools to help all children stay motivated and engaged in their own education. The more states that adopt these college and career based standards, the closer we will be to sharing innovation across state borders and becoming more competitive as a country.
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About three million computers get sold every year in China, people don't pay for the software. Someday they will, though. And as long as they're going to steal it, we want them to steal ours. They'll get sort of addicted, and then we'll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade.
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Internet TV and the move to the digital approach is quite revolutionary. TV has historically has been a broadcast medium with everybody picking from a very finite number of channels.
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These four policy prescriptions - strengthening educational opportunities, revamping immigration rules for highly skilled workers, increasing federal funding for basic scientific research, and providing incentives for private-sector R&D - should in my view be top priorities as Congress and the Administration consider how to maintain the nation's leadership in science, technology, and innovation.
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