13 Quotes That Show Why Libertarian Tech Billionaire Peter Thiel Is A Scary Genius
Advertisement
On living: "Your mind is software. Program it. Your body is a shell. Change it. Death is a disease. Cure it. Extinction is approaching. Fight it."
Advertisement
On higher education: "University administrators are the equivalent of subprime mortgage brokers selling you a story that you should go into debt massively, that it's not a consumption decision, it's an investment decision. Actually, no, it's a bad consumption decision. Most colleges are four-year parties."
Advertisement
On responses to his "20 Under 20" Thiel Foundation drop-outs: "Education may be the only thing people still believe in in the United States. To question education is really dangerous. It is the absolute taboo. It’s like telling the world there’s no Santa Claus."
On libertarianism: "I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible."
Advertisement
On the future: "Yes, a robotics revolution would basically have the effect of people losing their jobs, as you need fewer workers to do the same things, but it would have the benefit of freeing people up to do many other things."
On ideas: "There are still many large white spaces on the map of human knowledge. You can go discover them. So do it. Get out there and fill in the blank spaces. Every single moment is a possibility to go to these new places and explore them."
Advertisement
On progress: "People don't want to believe that technology is broken. Pharmaceuticals, robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology — all these areas where the progress has been a lot more limited than people think. And the question is, why?"
On choosing who to fund: "As an investor-entrepreneur, I’ve always tried to be contrarian, to go against the crowd, to identify opportunities in places where people are not looking."
Advertisement
On defining a personal world view: "This is always a problem with elites, they’re always skewed in an optimistic direction."
On success: "The most successful businesses have an idea for the future that's very different from the present."
Advertisement
On where we're going: “It seems like we’ve not been thinking about the right issues for a long time. I actually think it is a big step just to ask the question ‘What does one need to do to make the U.S. a better place?’"
On not accepting the status quo: "I think that one of the most contrarian things one can do in our society is try to think for oneself."
Advertisement
On failure: "Show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser."*
*Technically, this is a Vince Lombardi quote, but Thiel has made it something of a personal mantra.
Want to see some quotes from another genius founder?
Here are 11 Mark Zuckerberg quotes that show how he built the company that took over the world>>
Advertisement
Next StoryAdvertisement
Mehmet Oz says he was 'exhausted' when he filmed viral 'Wegner's' gaffe, adding it's not a big deal because 'I've gotten my kids' names wrong as well'
Life and times of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala — the man behind the trader
A 29-year-old woman found a mark on her head and was diagnosed with a fungal infection. It turned out to be invasive skin cancer.
Markets to open slightly lower on US Fed signals of more rates hikes
Syrma SGS Technology IPO: Last day to subscribe, grey market premiums at ₹25
Hit and earn: Indian cricket fans can win as much as $500 a day playing cricket in the metaverse
