Kappos, rejecting a patent on weather derivatives because it covered an an abstract idea.

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This is not something I read in a briefing book. (Laughter.) This is not some abstract idea for us.

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Yet despite what seems to be an innate preference for more or less literal representation of the visible world, the abstract idea remains to this day both seductive and perennially relevant.

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But I think probably more importantly, it's the abstract idea of an ultimate authority figure, and to date I think we haven't changed out perception of that person from male to female, or without gender.

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And I know that sometimes all this squabbling in Washington seems very abstract, and in the abstract, people like the idea, there must be some spending we can cut, there must be some waste out there.

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" "The idea of education reform becomes a lot less abstract and a lot more compelling when you see these beautiful kids and realize all their potential.

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The idea of becoming conscious of the subjectivity of our perceptions is an admittedly abstract one -- the stuff of philosophy and science fiction.

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