An attitude of only taking what you need was built into the protocols of the Internet itself.
Danny HillisWe're at a point in time which is analogous to when single-celled organisms were turning into multi-celled organisms. So we're the amoebas.
Danny HillisWhat we need is a plan B ... independent of the Internet. [It] doesn't necessarily have to have the performance of the Internet, but the police department has to be able to call up the fire department.
Danny HillisGlobal consciousness is that thing responsible for deciding that pots containing decaffeinated coffee should be orange.
Danny HillisLast century, when the beams needed replacing, carpenters used oak trees that had been planted in 1386 when the dining hall was first built. The 14th-century builder had planted the trees in anticipation of the time, hundreds of years in the future, when the beams would need replacing. Did the carpenters plant new trees to replace the beams again a few hundred years from now?
Danny Hillis