Auschwitz exists because of politicized science. Michael Crichton More Quotes by Michael Crichton More Quotes From Michael Crichton Today, one of the most powerful religions in the Western World is environmentalism. Michael Crichton powerful choices atheist I think every writer should have tattooed backwards on his forehead, like ambulance on ambulances, the words 'everybody needs an editor. Michael Crichton editors should-have thinking Nobody believes a weather prediction twelve hours ahead. Now we're being asked to believe a prediction that goes out 100 years into the future? And make financial investments based on that prediction? Has everybody lost their minds? Michael Crichton weather believe years Environmentalism has already killed somewhere between 10-30 million people since the 1970s. Michael Crichton millions politics people We are all assumed, these days, to reside at one extreme of the opinion spectrum, or another. We are pro-abortion or anti-abortion. We are free traders or protectionists. We are pro-private sector or pro-government. We are feminists or chauvinists. But in the real world, few of us hold these extreme views. There is instead a spectrum of opinion. Michael Crichton government real views As the practical value of altering consciousness becomes recognized, procedures to effect these alterations will become increasingly ordinary and unremarkable. The whole concept of changing states of consciousness will cease to have a threatening or exotic aspect. Michael Crichton exotic consciousness ordinary Each person bears a fear which is special to him. One man fears a close space and another man fears drowning; each laughs at the other and calls him stupid. Thus fear is only a preference, to be counted the same as the preference for one woman or another, or mutton for pig, or cabbage for onion. Michael Crichton stupid fear men A wonderful area for speculative academic work is the unknowable. These days religious subjects are in disfavor, but there are still plenty of good topics. The nature of consciousness, the workings of the brain, the origin of aggression, the origin of language, the origin of life on earth, SETI and life on other worlds...this is all great stuff. Wonderful stuff. You can argue it interminably. But it can't be contradicted, because nobody knows the answer to any of these topics. Michael Crichton origin-of-life other-worlds religious There is always a cause for fear. The cause may change over time, but the fear is always with us. Michael Crichton causes fear may In science, the old men are usually wrong. But in politics, the old men are wise, counsel caution, and in the end are often right. Michael Crichton wise men science Sometimes women scare the hell out of me. Michael Crichton hell scare sometimes Malcolm: A karate master does not kill people with his bare hands. He does not lose his temper and kill his wife. The person who kills is the person who has no discipline, no restraint, and who has purchased his power in the form of a Saturday night special. And that is why you think that to build a place like this is simple. Hammond: It was simple. Malcolm: Then why did it go wrong? Michael Crichton simple night thinking In my view, our approach to global warming exemplifies everything that is wrong with our approach to the environment. We are basing our decisions on speculation, not evidence. Proponents are pressing their views with more PR than scientific data. Indeed, we have allowed the whole issue to be politicized-red vs blue, Republican vs Democrat. This is in my view absurd. Data aren't political. Data are data. Politics leads you in the direction of a belief. Data, if you follow them, lead you to truth. Michael Crichton issues views blue Environmentalism needs to be absolutely based in objective and verifiable science, it needs to be rational, and it needs to be flexible. And it needs to be apolitical. To mix environmental concerns with the frantic fantasies that people have about one political party or another is to miss the cold truth - that there is very little difference between the parties, except a difference in pandering rhetoric. Michael Crichton differences party people Conventional wisdom is invariably out of date. Because in the time it has taken to become conventional - to become what everyone believes - the world has moved on. Conventional wisdom is a remnant of the past. Michael Crichton taken believe past They are focused on whether they can do something. They never think whether they should do something. Michael Crichton literature should thinking Often I feel I go to some distant region of the world to be reminded of who I really am. Michael Crichton regions feels world At the edge of chaos, unexpected outcomes occur. The risk to survival is severe. Michael Crichton risk outcomes survival Nobody is driven by abstractions like 'seeking truth. Michael Crichton seeking-truth abstraction driven Discovery, they believe, is inevitable. So they just try to do it first. That's the game in science. Michael Crichton games discovery believe
