Larry Niven quotes - page 7

The organ banks would be supplied for years. (Larry Niven)
A sonic stunner was a surer bet than a hypothetical, undependable psi power. It was real, cold and hard in his hand. View quote
Larry Niven
A ramrobot had been the first to see Mount Lookitthat. Ramrobots had been first visitors to all the settled worlds. View quote
Larry Niven
Someone or something was in this room, something or someone with the power to make people forget. View quote
Larry Niven
In Brazil a small but growing, alliance agitated for the removal of the death penalty for habitual traffic offenders. They would be opposed, but they would win. View quote
Larry Niven
From the beginning there had been a revolutionary group. Its name had changed several times, and Matt had no idea what it was now. He had never known a revolutionary. He had no particular desire to be one. They accomplished nothing, except to fill the Hospital's organ banks. View quote
Larry Niven
The idea had spread like wildfire .... like a moral plague, as one critic of the time had put it. View quote
Larry Niven
Any citizen, with the help of the organ banks, can live as long as it takes his central nervous system to wear out. View quote
Larry Niven
Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology. View quote
Larry Niven
Perhaps I was expecting too much. View quote
Larry Niven
That's impossible. Isn't it? Carlos? (Larry Niven)
I knew it long ago: I'm a compulsive teacher, but I can't teach. The godawful state of today's education system isn't what's stopping me. I lack at least two of the essential qualifications. I cannot "suffer fools gladly.”. View quote
Larry Niven
I am Yali, and I would like to welcome you to Heaven. I hope you will enjoy your stay. View quote
Larry Niven
We need to take command of the solar system to gain that wealth, and to escape the sea of paper our government is becoming, and for some decent chance of stopping a Dinosaur Killer asteroid. View quote
Larry Niven
But there's an old legend,” I said. "Once every hundred years the Los Angeles smog rolls away for a single night, leaving the air as clear as interstellar space. That way the gods can see if Los Angeles is still there. If it is, they roll the smog back so they won't have to look at it. View quote
Larry Niven
Never tell a computer to forget it. View quote
Larry Niven
Hopeless causes are the only ones worth fighting for. The fight for the taxpayer is the most hopeless of them all. View quote
Larry Niven
There is no turning away from knowledge. View quote
Larry Niven
Does it help you to know that you've ruined my day?” "It does, yes. View quote
Larry Niven
Presently she gave her considered opinion. "Idiots.” "No. They're just like all of us: They want something for nothing.”. View quote
Larry Niven
When you trade among the stars, there is no repeat business. (Larry Niven)
Time is a one-way street with no parking spaces. You just have to keep going. View quote
Larry Niven
Government over large areas needs emotional ties. It also needs stability. Government by 50%-plus-one hasn't enjoyed particularly stable politics-and it lasts only so long as the 50%-minus-one minority is willing to submit. Is heredity a rational way to choose leaders? It has this in its favor: the leader is known from an early age to be destined to rule, and can be educated to the job. Is that preferable to education based on how to get the job? Are elected officials better at governing, or at winning elections? View quote
Larry Niven
Do you know the difference between a comic book and a graphic novel? If you try to read a graphic novel in the sauna, it comes apart. Glue melts; staples don't. View quote
Larry Niven
Many critics avoid science fiction and fantasy as demons avoid holy water. And why not? A science fiction work that needs explaining may or may not be trash, but the standard-issue critic is not likely to know the difference, and not likely to be able to explain it either. View quote
Larry Niven