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Ted Chiang Quotes

Nothing erases the past. There is repentance, there is atonement, and there is forgiveness. That is all, but that is enough.

Nothing erases the past. There is repentance, there is atonement, and there is forgiveness. That is all, but that is enough.

Past, Repentance And Forgiveness, Atonement

Ted Chiang (2007). “The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate”, Subterranean

Four things do not come back: the spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life, and the neglected opportunity.

Inspirational, Leadership, Wisdom

Ted Chiang (2007). “The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate”, Subterranean

Science fiction is very well suited to asking philosophical questions; questions about the nature of reality, what it means to be human, how do we know the things that we think we know.

Philosophical, Mean, Reality

Contemplate the marvel that is existence, and rejoice that you are able to do so.

Able, Existence, Rejoice

"Exhalation". Short story by Ted Chiang, 2008.

Similarly, knowledge of the future was incompatible with free will. What made it possible for me to exercise freedom of choice also made it impossible for me to know the future. Conversely, now that I know the future, I would never act contrary to that future, including telling others what I know: those who know the future don't talk about it. Those who've read the Book of Ages never admit to it.

Book, Exercise, Choices

Ted Chiang (2010). “Stories of Your Life and Others”, p.137, Knopf

Brain damage is never a good idea, no matter what your friends say.

Ideas, Brain, Matter

Ted Chiang (2016). “Arrival: Film tie-in”, p.195, Pan Macmillan

It is a misconception to think that during evolution humans sacrificed physical skill in exchange for intelligence: wielding one's body is a mental activity.

Thinking, Skills, Body

Ted Chiang (2016). “Arrival: Film tie-in”, p.38, Pan Macmillan

Women who work with animals hear this all the time: that their love for animals must arise out of a sublimated child-rearing urge. Ana's tired of the stereotype. She likes children just fine, but they're not the standard against which all other accomplishments should be measured. Caring for animals is worthwhile in and of itself, a vocation that need offer no apologies.

Children, Tired, Apology

Physics admits of a lovely unification, not just at the level of fundamental forces, but when considering its extent and implications. Classifications like "optics" or "thermodynamics" are just straitjackets, preventing physicists from seeing countless intersections.

Lovely, Fundamentals, Levels

Ted Chiang (2016). “Arrival (Stories of Your Life MTI)”, p.52, Vintage

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