20130731V1 - The Giving Pledge

Yuri Milner (Continued)
understanding the Universe and living organisms will profit us technologically; simply by fulfilling our
human urge to know, these discoveries enrich us all.
In my opinion, scientific brilliance is currently under-capitalized. If the market dictates that a top
banker can earn a thousand times more than a great scientist, then this is an area where philanthropy
can make a world of difference—and so make a difference to the world. And along with financial
capital comes cultural capital: why shouldn’t scientific superstars have the same power to inspire as
their peers in art, media and sport? Some of the scientists who win our prizes are solitary dreamers.
Others run big, dynamic labs. But all of them, in their different ways, are leaders.
I believe that progress comes quickest when individual leadership drives collaborative ventures. It is
the creativity of extraordinary people that conjures truly new ideas; social networks apply them, extend
them, fill in the gaps and nurture the next generation of geniuses.
In creating the Giving Pledge, Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates have not just encouraged
us to invest in problem-solving. They have also brought something approaching the scientific method
to philanthropy. This means not just giving, but trying to learn from real-world experience and
experiment in order to give effectively. This is a sure sign of progress: we are finding more answers,
and we are getting better at asking the right questions.
Because of the acceleration of progress, and the urgency of our current problems, it is tempting to
regard the present as an end point, to which everything has been leading. In reality, we are at the very
beginning of human history. We are only now beginning to escape the confines of our nature—to
out-think our pathogens, outsource our memories, open-source our brains and link them together. We
have no idea where our ideas can take us. But to find out, we must invest in them now.
The human adventure has barely begun. I am hereby joining Giving Pledge to invest in our leading
minds and our shared future.
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