"[T]here has been a lot of progress in the world of bits and not so much in the world of atoms." - Peter Thiel #readingToday  

GOODWYN: Are you optimistic or pessimistic about this country's technological future?

THIEL: Well, I've articulated the view that there has been a lot of progress in the world of bits and not so much in the world of atoms. So there's been a lot of progress in computers, not as much in some other areas such as say energy or transportation or even biomedical. And so the hope is that we can re-accelerate progress so that technology's not just synonymous with computers. I never like to frame things, however, in terms of extreme optimism or extreme pessimism because they both end up being reasons not to do anything. If you're extremely optimistic, then the future will take care of itself. If you're extremely pessimistic, then there's nothing they can do. And so they both are mindsets that I think lead to inaction. And so I think the healthier mindset is always somewhere in between - to say that there's some good things and some bad things, and we have to figure out what are the meaningful things we can do in our time.