Isaac Asimov quotes - page 11

From my close observation of writers... they fall into two groups: 1) those who bleed copiously and visibly at any bad review, and 2) those who bleed copiously and secretly at any bad review. (Isaac Asimov)
Dalton's records, carefully preserved for a century, were destroyed during the World War II bombing of Manchester. It is not only the living who are killed in war. View quote
Isaac Asimov
He had read much, if one considers his long life; but his contemplation was much more than his reading. He was wont to say that if he had read as much as other men he should have known no more than other men. View quote
Isaac Asimov
Start with a planet like the earth, with a complement of simple compounds bound to exist upon it, add the energy of a nearby sun, and you are bound to end with nucleic acids. You can't avoid it. View quote
Isaac Asimov
Miniaturization doesn't actually make sense unless you miniaturize the very atoms of which matter is composed. Otherwise a tiny brain in a man the size of an insect, composed of normal atoms, is composed of too few atoms for the miniaturized man to be any more intelligent than the ant. Also, miniaturizing atoms is impossible according to the rules of quantum mechanics. View quote
Isaac Asimov
You're the U. S. Robot's psychologist, aren't you?” "Robopsychologist, please.” "Oh, are robots so different from men, mentally?” "Worlds different.” She allowed herself a frosty smile, "Robots are essentially decent. View quote
Isaac Asimov
There's something about a pious man such as he. He will cheerfully cut your throat if it suits him, but he will hesitate to endanger the welfare of your immaterial and problematical soul. View quote
Isaac Asimov
The house was somehow very lonely at night and Dr. Darell found that the fate of the Galaxy made remarkably little difference while his daughter's mad little life was in danger. View quote
Isaac Asimov
It's one thing to have guts; it's another to be crazy. View quote
Isaac Asimov
If an interaction is too weak to be detectable or to exert influence in any way, then by any operational definition, it doesn't exist. View quote
Isaac Asimov
I believe in evidence. I believe in observation, measurement, and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers. I'll believe anything, no matter how wild and ridiculous, if there is evidence for it. The wilder and more ridiculous something is, however, the firmer and more solid the evidence will have to be. (Isaac Asimov)
It is the obvious which is so difficult to see most of the time. People say 'It's as plain as the nose on your face.' But how much of the nose on your face can you see, unless someone holds a mirror up to you? View quote
Isaac Asimov
To insult someone we call him "bestial." For deliberate cruelty and nature, "human" might be the greater insult. View quote
Isaac Asimov
I don't believe in personal immortality; the only way I expect to have some version of such a thing is through my books. View quote
Isaac Asimov
It takes more than capital to swing business. You've got to have the A. I. D. degree to get by - Advertising, Initiative, and Dynamics. View quote
Isaac Asimov
Although the time of death is approaching me, I am not afraid of dying and going to Hell or (what would be considerably worse) going to the popularized version of Heaven. I expect death to be nothingness and, for removing me from all possible fears of death, I am thankful to atheism. View quote
Isaac Asimov
Emotionally I am an atheist. I don't have the evidence to prove that God doesn't exist, but I so strongly suspect he doesn't that I don't want to waste my time. View quote
Isaac Asimov
The temptation was great to muster what force we could and put up a fight. It's the easiest way out, and the most satisfactory to self-respect--but, nearly invariably, the stupidest. View quote
Isaac Asimov
You must keep sending work out you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you're working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success but only if you persist. View quote
Isaac Asimov
There's no merir in discipline under ideal circumstances. I'll have it in the face of death, or it's useless. View quote
Isaac Asimov
They don't remember the title but when they describe the story it is invariably "The Last Question". (Isaac Asimov)
Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in. View quote
Isaac Asimov
Infinite torture can only be a punishment for infinite evil, and I don't believe that infinite evil can be said to exist even in the case of Hitler. View quote
Isaac Asimov
Science doesn't purvey absolute truth. View quote
Isaac Asimov
Sometimes, in the dark of the night, I lie awake and wonder if different intelligences can communicate at all; or, if I've had a particularly bad day, whether the phrase 'different intelligences' has meaning at all." View quote
Isaac Asimov