"The poster boy for our superabled future is Oscar Pistorius, an increasingly famous South African sprinter who happens to have had both of his legs amputated below the knee. Using upside down question mark-shaped carbon fiber sprinting prosthetics, called Cheetah blades, Mr. Pistorius can challenge the fastest sprinters in the world."

"The goal for many amputees is no longer to reach a 'natural' level of ability but to exceed it, using whatever cutting-edge technology is available. As this new generation sees it, our tools are evolving faster than the human body, so why obey the limits of mere nature?"

"Looking ahead, future generations may learn their social skills from robots in the first place. The cute yellow Keepon robot from Carnegie Mellon University has shown the ability to facilitate social interactions with autistic children. Morphy at the University of Washington happily teaches gestures to children by demonstration."

"We humans have a love-hate relationship with our technology. We love each new advance and we hate how fast our world is changing... The robots really embody that love-hate relationship we have with technology."

"Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money."

"In the digital age of 'overnight' success stories such as Facebook, the hard slog is easily overlooked."

"Leadership in today's world requires far more than a large stock of gunboats and a hard fist at the conference table."

"It is a subtle truth that strive today so that tomorrow may stand upon solid ground — an essential principle for the reflective life."