Fabian > Fabian's Quotes

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
― Arthur C. Clarke, Profiles of the Future: An Inquiry into the Limits of the Possible

“Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.”
― Arthur C. Clarke

“Science fiction is held in low regard as a branch of literature, and perhaps it deserves this critical contempt. But if we view it as a kind of sociology of the future, rather than as literature, science fiction has immense value as a mind-stretching force for the creation of the habit of anticipation. Our children should be studying Arthur C. Clarke, William Tenn, Robert Heinlein, Ray Bradbury and Robert Sheckley, not because these writers can tell them about rocket ships and time machines but, more important, because they can lead young minds through an imaginative exploration of the jungle of political, social, psychological, and ethical issues that will confront these children as adults.”
― Alvin Toffler, Future Shock

“Basic research is what I’m doing when I don’t know what I am doing.”
― Wernher Von Braun

“One good test is worth a thousand expert opinions.”
― Wernher Von Braun

“I have learned to use the word 'impossible' with the greatest caution.”
― Wernher von Braun

“The rocket worked perfectly except for landing on the wrong planet.”
― Wernher Von Braun

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.”
― Albert Einstein

“If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself.”
― Albert Einstein

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”
― Albert Einstein

“Never memorize something that you can look up.”
― Albert Einstein

“If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.”
― Mark Twain

“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”
― Mark Twain

“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”
― William Shakespeare, As You Like It

“The Machine is the friend of ideas and the enemy of superstition: the Machine is omnipotent, eternal; blessed is the Machine.”
― E.M. Forster

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
― William Shakespear, Hamlet

“Auch die Galaxis lockt mich nicht mehr und das Reisen hat auch keinen Reiz, wenn man nicht weiß wohin man heimkehren kann.”
― Stanislaw Lem

“To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time.”
― Leonard Bernstein

“I wanted the whole world or nothing.”
― Charles Bukowski, Post Office

“Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead.”
― Charles Bukowski

“So many books, so little time.”
― Frank Zappa

“Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.”
― Narcotics Anonymous

“In Zukunft wird sich die Utopie beeilen müssen, wenn sie die Realität einholen will.”
― Wernher von Braun

“In future utopia will need to hurry to keep up with reality.”
― Wernher von Braun

“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.”
― Isaac Asimov

“The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the most discoveries, is not "Eureka!" (I found it!) but 'That's funny...”
― Isaac Asimov

“If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.”
― Isaac Asimov

“I am not a speed reader. I am a speed understander.”
― Isaac Asimov

“People think of education as something they can finish.”
― Isaac Asimov

“The Three Laws of Robotics:

1: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm;

2: A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law;

3: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law;

The Zeroth Law: A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.”
― Isaac Asimov, I, Robot