Thomas Frey is a renowned futurist, engineer, and speaker, known for his insightful commentary on technology, society, innovation, and the future. His quotes often blend optimism with caution, drawing from his extensive experience at IBM, founding the DaVinci Institute, and speaking to global audiences.

Here’s a curated list of 20 of Futurist Thomas Frey’s most quoted and widely circulated lines, gathered from his keynote talks, writings, interviews, and media articles. These are the ones that have resonated most strongly with audiences and been repeated in articles, social media, and professional circles:

1.) “All information, ever created, is still in existence.”
Underscores the permanence of data in the digital age, often referenced in privacy and big data conferences.

2.) “Our greatest motivation in life comes from not knowing the future.”
A reflection on uncertainty as a driver of human progress, popular in motivational contexts about foresight and ambition.

3.) “The future is our greatest adversary. We are a very backward-looking society, and as such, we are continually blindsided by the future.”
This quote highlights society’s resistance to forward-thinking, frequently quoted in articles on technological disruption.

4.) “He who controls the weather, will control the world. He who controls gravity, will control the universe. He who controls time, will never be around.”
A witty take on ultimate power dynamics in advanced tech, widely shared for its philosophical depth.

5.) “Every avalanche begins with the movement of a single snowflake, and my hope is to move a snowflake.”
This emphasizes the power of small actions to spark massive change, often cited in discussions on innovation and leadership.

6.) “The health of a nation is inversely proportional to the number of laws needed to govern it.”
A critique of over-regulation, popular in political and economic futurism.

7.) “The human race cannot survive if all humans only live on one planet.”
Advocates for space exploration, echo this in their talks on humanity’s long-term survival.

8.) “Systems for owning smells will open a rich treasure trove of opportunity for those interested in capitalizing on it.”
From his work on intellectual property in senses, highlighting niche tech innovations.

9.) “Rest assured, there are no utopias and conflict will not go away in the future. If life became too easy, we would lose our motivation to move forward. However, we have an opportunity now to move into an era with a far better grade of conflict, with problem sets that are infinitely more interesting.”
A nuanced view on progress through challenges, cited in books on societal evolution.

10) “Amnesia therapy will someday become widely used on individual’s brains to erase select pieces of human memory that cause traumatic impairment.”
Foresees biotech advancements in mental health, a forward-looking quote on neurotechnology.

11.) “People are at their best when they are challenged. If we don’t challenge ourselves, nature has a way of giving us challenges anyway. There is great value in our struggles, and human nature has shown us that we only value the things we struggle to achieve.”
Motivational insight on resilience, common in leadership and tech adaptation talks.

12.) “While classrooms will be in use for many years to come, their value will diminish quickly as the online options become more pervasive. Many of the physical classrooms will be converted to eLearning laboratories, some to research centers. The real classroom of the future will take place inside the mind of the student, wherever they happen to be.”
Predicts the shift to personalized, digital education, highly relevant post-pandemic.

13.) “Our visions of the future determine our actions today.”
His way of demonstrating the value of futuristic thinking.

14.) “We will never get to the flying car era. We will get to the era where we get flying drones that haul people, though.”
A pragmatic take on transportation tech, distinguishing hype from reality.

15.) “Learning isn’t meant to be confined to a box, and students virtually never ‘master’ a topic simply by taking a class.”
Advocates for lifelong, experiential learning beyond traditional structures.

16.) “I will venture to say that sending a probe to the center of the earth will be more difficult than putting a man on the moon or sending a spaceship to Mars.”
Compares exploration challenges, highlighting engineering frontiers.

17.) “Solving problems is fine, but it has gotten to the point of being a global obsession. We somehow have it in our heads that if we solve all of the problems, we can sit back and enjoy the easy life. But in reality, we become lazy and complacent. And that’s when we get flooded with even bigger problems.”
Warns against over-reliance on problem-solving without embracing new challenges.

18.) “If your next project is not aligned with the problems, needs, and desires of the future, the future is going to kill it!”
From his book Communicating with the Future, stressing alignment with emerging trends for success.

19.) “Our grandchildren will laugh at the idea that we once taught everyone the same way, at the same pace, in the same classroom.”
Demonstrating a new way of looking at the future.

20.) “Central Bank Digital Currencies are surveillance disguised as innovation; the real revolution will come from decentralized alternatives.”
Crypto and blockchain are a reoccurring theme of his as the industry is poised to be reignited in ways we can’t yet imagine.

More of his quotes are at https://futuristspeaker.com/famous-quotes/

These quotes span themes of technology, education, AI, blockchain, transportation, economics, and society, and together they reflect your reputation as one of the most provocative futurists shaping conversations about tomorrow.

These quotes capture Frey’s core themes: the inevitability of technological evolution, the need for adaptability, and the excitement of uncertainty. Many appear in his columns, books like Epiphany Z, and speeches. For more context, check out his site – futuristspeaker.com