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Isaac Asimov Quotes - Page 4

All Quotes Army Art Atheism Atheist Business Change Children Choices Coincidence Creativity Curiosity Death Democracy Desire Diversity Dying Earth Education Effort Evolution Fear Feelings Fighting Funny Future Giving Heart Heaven History Humanity Ignorance Imagination Insecurity Inspirational Intuition Knowledge Learning Life Literature Love Lying Math Memories Moon Motivational Overpopulation Past Peace Philosophy Prophet Rage Rain Reading Reality Rejection Religion Running School Science Sleep Speed Stupidity Suffering Technology Today Truth Understanding Universe War Winning Wisdom Work Out Writing

All you have to do is take a close look at yourself and you will understand everyone else.

All you have to do is take a close look at yourself and you will understand everyone else.

Looks, Look At Yourself

Isaac Asimov (2012). “Foundation's Edge”, p.209, Spectra

The great secret of the successful fool is that he's no fool at all

Successful, Secret, Fool

Isaac Asimov (1970). “The English plays”

It is not so much that I have confidence in scientists being right, but that I have so much in nonscientists being wrong.

Science, Scientist, Have Confidence

"Quasar, Quasar, Burning Bright". Book by Isaac Asimov, p. 235, 1978.

Intelligence is an extremely subtle concept. It's a kind of understanding that flourishes if it's combined with a good memory, but exists anyway even in the absence of good memory. It's the ability to draw consequences from causes, to make correct inferences, to foresee what might be the result, to work out logical problems, to be reasonable, rational, to have the ability to understand the solution from perhaps insufficient information. You know when a person is intelligent, but you can be easily fooled if you are not yourself intelligent.

Memories, Science, Intelligent

"Biography/Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

The greatest weapons in the conquest of knowledge are an understanding mind and the inexorable curiosity that drives it on.

Understanding, Curiosity, Mind

I don't believe in an afterlife, so I don't have to spend my whole life fearing hell, or fearing heaven even more. For whatever the tortures of hell, I think the boredom of heaven would be even worse.

Life, Atheist, Believe

"Philosophy on the Go". Book by Joey Green, p. 222, 2007.

At odd and unpredictable times, we cling in fright to the past .

Past, Odd, Unpredictable

Isaac Asimov (2012). “Foundation's Edge”, p.10, Spectra

Education isn't something you can finish

I figure that if God actually does exist, he is big enough to understand an honest difference of opinion.

Differences, Doe, Opinion

Inspect every piece of pseudoscience and you will find a security blanket.

Pseudoscience, Pieces, Blanket

Isaac Asimov (1987). “Past, Present, and Future”

Nothing has to be true, but everything has to sound true.

Sound, Being True

To make discoveries, you have to be curious about why the universe is the way it is.

Discovery, Way, Curious

You don't need to predict the future. Just choose a future -- a good future, a useful future -- and make the kind of prediction that will alter human emotions and reactions in such a way that the future you predicted will be brought about. Better to make a good future than predict a bad one.

Future, Needs, Way

When I die I won't go to heaven or hell; there will just be nothingness.

Heaven, Religion, Atheism

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?

Mirrors, People, Common Sense

Isaac Asimov (1950). “I, Robot”, Spectra

I wish that I could say I was optimistic about the human race. I love us all, but we are so stupid and shortsighted that I wonder if we can lift our eyes to the world about us long enough not to commit suicide.

Suicide, Stupid, Eye

Isaac Asimov (1995). “Yours, Isaac Asimov: A Lifetime of Letters”, Doubleday Books

It is no defense of superstition and pseudoscience to say that it brings solace and comfort to people. . . . If solace and comfort are how we judge the worth of something, then consider that tobacco brings solace and comfort to smokers; alcohol brings it to drinkers; drugs of all kinds bring it to addicts; the fall of cards and the run of horses bring it to gamblers; cruelty and violence bring it to sociopaths. Judge by solace and comfort only and there is no behavior we ought to interfere with.

Running, Horse, Fall

Congratulations on the new library, because it isn't just a library. It is a space ship that will take you to the farthest reaches of the Universe, a time machine that will take you to the far past and the far future, a teacher that knows more than any human being, a friend that will amuse you and console you-and most of all, a gateway, to a better and happier and more useful life.

Teacher, Congratulations, Writing

Politically popular speech has always been protected: even the Jews were free to say ‘Heil Hitler.’

Speech, Jew, Protected

Since emotions are few and reasons are many (said the robot Giscard) the behavior of a crowd can be more easily predicted than the behavior of one person.

Sports, Robots, Crowds

If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.

Ignorance, Knowledge, Science

Isaac Asimov (1984). “Asimov's New guide to science”, Basic Books (AZ)

It is almost impossible to think of something no one has thought of before, but it is always possible to add different frills.

Thinking, Different, Add

Isaac Asimov (1995). “Yours, Isaac Asimov: A Lifetime of Letters”, Doubleday Books

The Bible contains legendary, historical, and ethical contents. It is quite possible to consider them separately, and one doesn't have to accept the legends in order to get the ethics. Fundamentalists make a grave mistake to insist on the letter of the writings, because they drive away many who can't swallow the Adam-and-Eve bit.

Mistake, Writing, Order

Isaac Asimov (1995). “Yours, Isaac Asimov: A Lifetime of Letters”, Doubleday Books

Where any answer is possible, all answers are meaningless.

Science, Answers, Possibility

Isaac Asimov (1977). “The road to infinity”, Doubleday Books

Science is a set of rules to keep us from telling lies to each other. All scientists really have is a reputation for telling the truth.

Lying, Reputation, Telling The Truth

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