There are no nations! There is only humanity. And if we don't come to understand that right soon, there will be no nations, because there will be no humanity. Isaac Asimov More Quotes by Isaac Asimov More Quotes From Isaac Asimov Before another century is done it will be hard for people to imagine a time when humanity was confined to one world, and it will seem to them incredible that there was ever anybody who doubted the value of space and wanted to turn his or her back on the Universe. Isaac Asimov future space science What I will be remembered for are the Foundation Trilogy and the Three Laws of Robotics. What I want to be remembered for is no one book, or no dozen books. Any single thing I have written can be paralleled or even surpassed by something someone else has done. However, my total corpus for quantity, quality and variety can be duplicated by no one else. That is what I want to be remembered for. Isaac Asimov law writing book Inertia! Our ruling class knows one law; no change. Despotism! They know one rule; force. Maldistribution! They know one desire; to hold what is theirs. Isaac Asimov law desire class Oh, for a pin that would puncture pretension! Isaac Asimov puncture pins humble In all the known history of Mankind, advances have been made primarily in physical technology; in the capacity of handling the inanimate world about Man. Control of self and society has been left to to chance or to the vague gropings of intuitive ethical systems based on inspiration and emotion. As a result no culture of greater stability than about fifty-five percent has ever existed, and these only as the result of great human misery. Isaac Asimov technology inspiration men It is quite clear that as long as the nations of the world spend most of their energy, money, and emotional strength in quarreling with words and weapons, a true offensive against the common problems that threaten human survival is not very likely. A world government that can channel human efforts in the direction of the great solutions seems desirable, even essential. Naturally, such a world government should be a federal one, with regional and local autonomy safeguarded and with cultural diversity promoted. Isaac Asimov world-government emotional law Humanists recognize that it is only when people feel free to think for themselves, using reason as their guide, that they are best capable of developing values that succeed in satisfying human needs and serving human interests. Isaac Asimov people needs thinking Courtiers don't take wagers against the king's skill. There is the deadly danger of winning. Isaac Asimov skills kings winning All humanity could share a common insanity and be immersed in a common illusion while living in a common chaos. That can't be disproved, but we have no choice but to follow our senses. Isaac Asimov choices humanity insanity What do you call that nice, shiny white metal they use to make sidings and airplanes out of? Aluminum, right? Aluminum, pronounced 'uh-LOO-mih-num', right? Anybody knows that! But do you know how the British spell it? 'Aluminium', pronounced 'Al-yoo-MIH-nee-um'. Ever hear anything so ridiculous? The French and Germans spell it 'aluminium', too, but they're foreigners who don't speak Earth-standard. You'd think the British, however, using our language, would be more careful Isaac Asimov airplane nice thinking I am the beneficiary of a lucky break in the genetic sweepstakes. Isaac Asimov heredity lucky break If you ask for too much, you lose even that which you have. Isaac Asimov asks greed too-much Gratitude is best and most effective when it does not evaporate itself in empty phrases. Isaac Asimov gratitude phrases doe All roads lead to Trantor, says the old proverb, and that is where all stars end. Isaac Asimov all-stars stars ends One of Walt Whitman's best-known poems is this one: When I heard the learn'd astronomer,.... The trouble is, Whitman is talking through his hat, but the poor soul didn't know any better Isaac Asimov hats soul talking Plate glass... has no beauty of its own. Ideally, you ought not to be able to see it at all, but through it you can see all that is happening outside. That is the equivalent of writing that is plain and unadorned. Ideally, in reading such writing, you are not even aware that you are reading. Ideas and events seem merely to flow from the mind of the writer into that of the reader without any barrier between. I hope that is what is happening when you read this book Isaac Asimov reading writing book You can't assert an answer just because it's not something else. Isaac Asimov answers Nothing has to be true, but everything has to sound true. Isaac Asimov being-true sound People are entirely too disbelieving of coincidence. They are far too ready to dismiss it and to build arcane structures of extremely rickety substance in order to avoid it. I, on the other hand, see coincidence everywhere as an inevitable consequence of the laws of probability, according to which having no unusual coincidence is far more unusual than any coincidence could possibly be. Isaac Asimov order science hands Scientists derive satisfaction from figuring out the puzzle. It's about the quest, not the grail. Isaac Asimov scientist quests satisfaction
