Where subtlety fails us we must simply make do with cream pies. David Brin More Quotes by David Brin More Quotes From David Brin In contrast, markets - oft mythologized as "natural" are the most unnatural things going. Libertarians will tell you "market laws are laws of nature", what baloney. Markets - and the other great modernist cornucopian tools - are magnificent wealth generating machines, built ad-hoc, through trial and error, constantly fine-tuned and refined, tinkered, adjusted. David Brin trial-and-error errors law The sane are usually attracted by other things than power. David Brin corruption belief power But it is a delightful challenge to try to depict interesting aliens. David Brin challenges trying interesting A neurosis defends itself by coming up with rationalizations to explain away bizarre behavior. David Brin neurosis bizarre behavior Anyone who wants simple, pat stories should buy another author's product. The real universe ain't that way, and neither are my fictive ones. David Brin real simple stories When I begin a book, I inevitably discover many things along the way, about the characters, their past histories and the political intrigues that surround them. This discovery process is vital, and I would not prejudice it by deciding too much in advance David Brin character book past I find humans tremendously interesting David Brin humans interesting Fortunately, human beings are remarkably diverse models to work from David Brin diverse models humans Predicting has a spotty record in science fiction. I've had some failures. On the other hand, I also predicted the fall of the Berlin Wall and the rise of fundamentalist Islam... and I'm not happy to be right in all of those cases David Brin wall hands fall I like to be surprised. Fresh implications and plot twists erupt as a story unfolds. Characters develop backgrounds, adding depth and feeling. Writing feels like exploring David Brin feelings writing character One of the rules I try to follow is that normal people are going to be involved even in heroic events David Brin events trying people But honestly, if you do a rigorous survey of my work, I'll bet you'll find that biology is a theme far more often than physical science. David Brin theme biology honest Above all, TRIBES is fun, and even kind of sexy... in that every round features an Opportunity for Reproduction, which is the main aim of the game, as it is in most of Nature David Brin sexy opportunity fun She had called in the debt that parents owe a child for bringing her, unasked, into a strange world. One should never make an offer without knowing full well what will happen if it is accepted. David Brin parents never child world Human beings are inherently misled into subjective fantasies, but there's a saving grace. We all have different delusions. Other people don't necessarily share yours, and hence they will help you penetrate yours through the miracle of criticism! David Brin you criticism grace people Transparency is key to reciprocal accountability, which we use to be both free and smart. It is the miracle tool that enables us to question the lies of monsters. David Brin question free transparency smart Competition, by itself, always leads to cheating by the powerful, who try to establish pyramids of power, like feudalism. Yet, competition is the great creative force! So how do we save it from its own contradictions? By cooperation! By cooperating with each other, via politics, to make rules and prevent cheating, so that competition can thrive! David Brin great competition politics power Strutting and preening is, in fact, the surest sign of an inferiority complex. David Brin sign fact complex inferiority Writing can be taken up at any point. But you need to remember that the arts are fundamentally unfair. Hard work and diligence won't necessarily take you all the way. Talent, nepotism, influence, and pure luck play a huge part. David Brin you talent hard-work work Those who use 'Correlation is not the same as causation' as a magic incantation to dismiss all fact-using professions are fools holding a lit match in one hand and an open gas can in the other, screaming, 'One has nothing to do with the other!' David Brin fools open nothing magic
