The question

What belief do you hold that most people around you would reject or find surprising?

Originally asked

Peter Thiel, to job candidates, Zero to One, chapter 1, 2014

Peter Thiel, Zero to One, chapter 1, where it is introduced as his job-interview question. Thiel supplies his own standard: a good answer takes the form "most people believe x, but the truth is the opposite of x."

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

David Vélez

Co-founder and chief executive of Nubank

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here
Pix is probably the most successful payment infrastructure run by a government in history. I think Pix has been what has allowed a country like Brazil to leapfrog developed economies like the U.S. and in Europe, and has positioned Brazil today probably five years ahead of the U.S. I don't think anybody understands that, and probably in the U.S. they didn't really expect that.

Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, interview, Fortune, 9 October 2023 source ↗

Others on this question

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Peter Thiel Co-founder of PayPal and Palantir; venture capitalist
My own answer to the contrarian question is that most people think the future of the world will be defined by globalization, but the truth is that technology matters more. Without technological change, if China doubles its energy production over the next two decades, it will also double its air pollution. If every one of India's hundreds of millions of households were to live the way Americans already do — using only today's tools — the result would be environmentally catastrophic. Spreading old ways to create wealth around the world will result in devastation, not riches. In a world of scarce resources, globalization without new technology is unsustainable.
Recorded Excerpt from Zero to One (2014), reproduced by Quartz, Quartz (quoting Zero to One), 2018 source ↗
Susan Wojcicki Chief executive of YouTube; Google's first marketing manager
Coding is like writing, and we live in a time of the new industrial revolution.
Recorded TechRadar, 16 June 2026 source ↗
Yaa Gyasi Novelist
I think one of the best things that art can do is to shine a light on dark places, and to hold something up and say: 'This hasn't gone unnoticed. We see this, and we're going to say something about it.'
Recorded Marta Bausells, Vice, 20 February 2017 source ↗
Tegan Quin Singer-songwriter, one half of Tegan and Sara
I have a lot of compassion for everybody, even fake Tegan, honestly. Life’s hard. The world’s hard. Navigating this is hard. We all have issues.
Recorded Pride, Interview, Pride, 15 November 2022 source ↗

More from David Vélez

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Question When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do? Daily life
Now I try to protect one hour in the morning and one in the afternoon where I turn off Slack, and I don't check email. I might read, or write in a journal, or just go for a walk. It's become one of the most important parts of my day. It's when I'm most creative, and when I hit on ideas that can take the company in new directions.
Recorded questionnaire, Sequoia Capital, 15 August 2018 source ↗
Question What does everyone in your world seem to agree on that you think is wrong? Values & belief
I always say the Nubank story was very unlikely. It was a very low probability event. Again. We were going after these very big incumbent banks. Everybody told me, you know, you're Colombian. You have no idea what you're doing in Brazil. They're going to crush you. Like, don't. Just don't do it. And I did it mostly because everybody told me I couldn't do it. And so, if somebody tells me I can't do something, I want to go do it.
Recorded John Waldron, Goldman Sachs Talks, Goldman Sachs (official event transcript) source ↗
Question What is the worst job you have ever had? Craft & work
Los diferentes trabajos en los que he estado, después de mi graduación, han sido de 100 y 120 horas a la semana, especialmente empezando con Nubank. Básicamente vivía en el lugar de trabajo. Empezamos la compañía en una casa de dos pisos. Mi cofundador vivía en el segundo piso. Yo básicamente dormía en el primer piso, o pasaba muchas noches en el primer piso. No salimos de esa casa por seis o 12 meses porque trabajábamos como locos.
Recorded Vicky Dávila, interview, Semana, 1 October 2022 source ↗

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Peter Thiel, Susan Wojcicki, Tara VanDerveer, Werner Herzog, Tabita Rezaire, Whitney Cummings

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