Portals Quotes

“foods we loved before become as bland as unflavored mush. But addicts aren’t numbing their taste buds. They’re numbing their pleasure centers. So without the source of their addiction, they’re more prone to negative emotions like stress, anxiety, and depression.” I found this bastardization of our normal wiring to be tragic on multiple levels. “So stress can foster addictive behavior,” I said. “And addictive behavior can foster more stress.” “Right. Like I said earlier, a vicious circle.” “And this applies to behavioral addiction, as well, doesn’t it?” I said. “The highs of cell phones and Twitter and video games are dulling actual life, actual human connection. Causing us to be more depressed and anxious when we’re not engaging with the sources of our addiction.”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“connection. Causing us to be more depressed and anxious when we’re not engaging with the sources of our addiction.”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“These technologies are powerful, but have led to widespread addiction in your civilization. And, paradoxically, technologies designed to bring people together have done just the opposite, bringing about a massive loss of attention span and human connection.”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“internet”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“I was well aware this wasn’t a word most lethal operatives like myself would use, but I had always marched to the beat of my own drummer. “You paint quite the scary picture, Professor,” I continued, raising my eyebrows. “Why do I have the feeling this isn’t the first time you’ve thought about this?” Singh smiled. “Not quite the first time, no,” she replied. “I guess I have gone into lecture mode. And it’s a lot to absorb. So let me wind this down. The bottom line is that the rates of substance and behavioral addictions have skyrocketed. Our levels of stress and neurosis have too. The furious pace of our advancements, and the toxicities and manipulations I just described, are outstripping our psyches, which were evolved for a simpler existence.” “Do you have statistics on the extent of the problem?” asked Ashley. “It’s impossible to really get your arms around,” replied Singh, “but I’ll try. In 1980, fewer than three thousand Americans died of a drug overdose. By 2021 that number had grown to over a hundred thousand. More than thirty-fold! And it’s only grown since then. “And these are just the mortality stats. Many times this number are addicts. Estimates vary pretty widely, but I can give you numbers that I believe to be accurate. Fifteen to twenty million Americans are addicted to alcohol. Over twenty-five million suffer from nicotine dependence. Many millions more are addicted to cocaine, or heroin, or meth, or fentanyl—which is a hundred times stronger than morphine—or an ever-growing number of other substances. Millions more are addicted to gambling. Or online shopping. Or porn.” Singh frowned deeply. “When it comes to the internet, cell phones, and other behavioral addictions, the numbers are truly immense. Probably half the population. The average smart phone user now spends over three hours a day on this device. And when it comes to our kids, the rate of phone addiction is even higher. Much higher. In some ways, it’s nearly universal. “Meanwhile, many parents insist their children keep this addiction device with them at all times. They’re thrilled to be able to reach their kids every single second of their lives, and track their every movement.” There was a long, stunned silence in the room. “I could go on for days,” said Singh finally. “But I think that gives you some sense of what we’re currently facing as a society.” I tried to think of something humorous to say. Something to lighten the somber mood, which was my instinctive reaction when things got depressing.  But in this case, I had nothing. Singh had called the current situation a crisis. But even this loaded term couldn’t begin to do it justice.”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves, by Matt Ridley Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World—and Why Things Are Better Than You Think, by Hans Rosling”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“knowledge right now, there are two trillion galaxies in the known Universe, each with an average of a hundred billion stars. Which comes to two hundred billion trillion stars in total. And”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“Then, too,” she continued, “we’re more polarized than ever, more propagandized than ever. And this is only getting worse as new tech, especially social media and 24/7 news, divide us. First, we’re each getting individualized news feeds, so no two debaters are even working from the same set of facts, the same objective reality. And social media provides an anonymous platform to spew venom, to unleash our worst selves on each other, bypassing the normal restraints that evolution has built into us when interacting in person.” Singh paused and returned her glass to the table in front of her. “Our tech ensures we’re always connected, always reachable, always on call. Which is stressful enough. But even worse, the tech is designed to worm its way into our minds, tempting us into devoting more and more attention to it. As I mentioned, we’re in a society filled with people hell bent on doing whatever they can to addict us. It’s a war for your brain. “The alcohol industry, the gambling industry, the tobacco industry, the drug cartels, and many others have long done whatever they could get away with to better addict their customers. Then designer drugs came along, offering more potent, faster-acting highs that make them more addictive than ever before. “But it goes far beyond substance abuse. Over the past few decades we’ve invented entirely new classes of products. Products that lead to what is called behavioral addiction”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“More importantly, by phasing out the internet, your people’s pessimism, neurosis, the divisiveness will plummet.”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“over the past fifty of your years, you’ve improved your health, longevity, literacy, quality of life, prosperity, and everything else. Dramatically. Yet almost all of you believe the opposite is true. Why? Because your news and social media is almost all negative. All alarming. All divisive. You’ve become more pessimistic, more tribal, than ever before. Your politicians ever more corrupt, manipulative, and self-serving.”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“Many of you have lost touch with nature, with simple pleasures. No matter how much technology you have, all you crave is the next advance. Your lives have become hollow, meaningless, and unfulfilling.”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“Because in your political system, neither brilliance, nor even basic competence, seem to be prerequisites for getting elected to an office. Instead, the skills required seem to be popularity, and an ability to lie shamelessly with every breath, make false promises, and trash your opponents.”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“experiences”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“There are two portals from Earth leading to worlds on which humanity has gone extinct. We propose that we gradually relocate ourselves to one of these worlds. To a pristine, unspoiled planet, with unlimited natural resources that have never been tapped. For ease of discussion, we’ll call this planet Haven.”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“For any civilization to survive, to evolve to the next level, this is a malady we must get control of.”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“Fiction could give me a sense of the day-to-day life and customs on the planet much better than practical texts, which wouldn’t capture mundane details nearly as well. With respect to the history texts Hankey had provided, I considered these to be useless. History was, indeed, written by the victors,”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“We both absently pulled handguns from our holsters and extended them outward.”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“professor’s”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“But just to remove all doubt, let me tell you how I found your base in the first place.”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“For the greater good?” screamed Ashley through her tears,”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“the idea of six thousand innocents being annihilated in this way was devastating,”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“unchartered Island in the north pacific.”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“I began toying with the idea of a million human worlds.”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“empathic ability, without ensuring that psychopathic tendencies didn’t come along for the ride.”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“twenty-foot-long laminate table,”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“The easiest way for you to make sense of this is to imagine that you’re a two-dimensional being. A being flatter than the flattest pancake, living on the surface of a giant, empty, plastic box. As a 2D being, you can only see the surface of the”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“gasped in disbelief as the three men I was following vanished before my eyes, one after another. Just like that. Like human-sized versions of Yondu drones.”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“there are two trillion galaxies in the known Universe, each with an average of a hundred billion stars. Which comes to two hundred billion trillion stars in total.”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“I demanded. “Good question. All we know is that she’s vanished without a trace.”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals

“Hankey”
― Douglas E. Richards, Portals