171. But it’s easy to kill creativity by giving rewards for poor performance or creating too much anticipation for rewards.
172. The fridge’s effect upon the environment has been evident, while its contribution to human happiness has been insignificant.
173. It may then take us a long time to render it intelligent by loading in the right software or by altering the architecture but that too will happen.
174. As the intelligence of robots increase to match that of humans and as their cost declines through economies of scale we may use them to expand our frontiers.
175. Further ahead, by a combination of the great wealth this new age will bring and the technology it will provide, the construction of a vast, man-created world in space, home to thousands or millions of people, will be within our power.
176. Later, people tried to lift a building off its foundation, and insert rubber and steel between the building and its foundation to reduce the impact of ground vibrations.
177. If they are not sincere and do not practise what they preach, their children may grow confused and emotionally insecure when they grow old enough to think for themselves, and realize they have been to some extent fooled.
178. For all these reasons, reading newspapers efficiently, which means getting what you want from them without missing things you need but without wasting time, demands skill and self-awareness as you modify and apply the techniques of reading.
179. “In Japan, a most competitive society with stronger discipline than ours.” Says Isaac Stern. “children are ready to test their limits every day in many fields, including music.”
180. What does the phrase ‘learning to use a computer’ mean? It sounds like ‘learning to drive a car’; that is , it sounds as if there is some set of definite skills that, once acquired, enable one to use a computer.