Isaac Asimov Quotes
The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.
The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.
I am not a speed reader. I am a speed understander.
The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ but ‘That’s funny…’
The saddest part of life is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.
There is a single light of science, and to brighten it anywhere is to brighten it everywhere.
Your intellect may be confused, but your emotions will never lie to you.
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society collects wisdom.
The most exciting phrase to hear in science is not ‘Eureka!’ but ‘That’s funny…’
The danger of the past was that men became slaves. The danger of the future is that men may become robots.
Self-education is the only kind of education there is.
The true measure of a man is not his intelligence or how high he rises in this freak establishment. No, the true measure of a man is this: how quickly can he respond to the needs of others and how much of himself he can give.
To succeed, planning alone is insufficient. One must improvise as well.
It is the obvious which is so difficult to see most of the time. People say ‘It’s as plain as the nose on your face.’ But how much of the nose on your face can you see, unless someone holds a mirror up to you?
The three fundamental rules of robotics are: One, a robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm. Two, a robot must obey orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the first law. Three, a robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the first or second laws.
You don’t have to know everything. You just have to know where to find it.
The true delight is in the finding out rather than in the knowing.
In life, unlike chess, the game continues after checkmate.
Scientific gadgetry has its place in the marching of mankind, but true success in all endeavors is found in able, dedicated individuals.
Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.
The true test of intelligence is not how much we know how to do, but how we behave when we don’t know what to do.
If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.
I suppose even dictators think they’re doing good things.
The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ but ‘That’s funny…’
Humanity has the stars in its future, and that future is too important to be lost under the burden of juvenile folly and ignorant superstition.
Science and technology revolutionize our lives, but memory, tradition and myth frame our response.
It’s not so much staying alive, it’s staying human that’s important.
It is the obvious which is so difficult to see most of the time. People say ‘It’s as plain as the nose on your face.’ But how much of the nose on your face can you see, unless someone holds a mirror up to you?
A subtle thought that is in error may yet give rise to fruitful inquiry that can establish truths of great value.
Science fiction writers foresee the inevitable, and although problems and catastrophes may be inevitable, solutions are not.
I am a professor of chemistry. That is all I teach. And that is enough.
To insult someone we call him ‘bestial.’ For deliberate cruelty and nature, ‘human’ might be the greater insult.
It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.
The only reason we don’t have no riots is because the young people have no leaders. There’s no one to blame. We’re all wrong.
Humanity has the stars in its future, and that future is too important to be lost under the burden of juvenile folly and ignorant superstition.
I am not a speed reader. I am a speed understander.
Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.
Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.
Reading is an escape, and the opposite of escape; it’s a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it’s a way of making contact with someone else’s imagination after a day that’s all too real.
The biggest lesson of history is that we must never let ourselves forget that the record on which we judge these men will itself be judged in time.
The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ (I found it!) but ‘That’s funny?’
It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety.
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
Part of that blame rests on scientists, of course. They know very well that their words often create or perpetuate misunderstandings, but they insist that they cannot tailor their words to a public of half-wits. That is true, but it is half a truth. They also have to speak to the intelligent and the informed — and they do want to be understood.
He had read much, if one considers his long life; but his contemplation was much more than his reading. He was wont to say that if he had read as much as other men he should have known no more than other men.
To insult someone we call him ‘bestial.’ For deliberate cruelty and nature, ‘human’ might be the greater insult.
Writing is a lonely job. Having someone who believes in you makes a lot of difference. They don’t have to make speeches. Just believing is usually enough.
Science, for me, gives a partial explanation of life. In so far as it goes, it is based on fact, experience, and experiment.
It is the writer who might catch the imagination of young people, and plant a seed that will flower and come to fruition.