Michael Crichton

planet survive everything us human people

"The planet has survived everything, in its time. It will certainly survive us."

— Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

human nature do action late procrastination

"That's human nature. Nobody does anything until it's too late."

— Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

working inspiration

"Keep working. Don't wait for inspiration. Work inspires inspiration. Keep working."

— Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

concensus science solid E=mc2

"Finally, I would remind you to notice where the claim of consensus is invoked. Consensus is invoked only in situations where the science is not solid enough. Nobody says the consensus of scientists agrees that E=mc2. Nobody says the consensus is that the sun is 93 million miles away. It would never occur to anyone to speak that way."

— Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

concensus wallet fraud

"Whenever you hear the consensus of scientists agrees on something or other, reach for your wallet, because you're being had."

— Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

mankind challenge distinguish reality fantasy truth propaganda

"The greatest challenge facing mankind is the challenge of distinguishing reality from fantasy, truth from propaganda. Perceiving the truth has always been a challenge to mankind, but in the information age (or as I think of it, the disinformation age) it takes on a special urgency and importance."

— Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

social control fear

"Social control is best managed through fear."

— Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

think know doing always wrong fresh errors

"We think we know what we are doing. We have always thought so. We never seem to acknowledge that we have been wrong in the past, and so might be wrong in the future. Instead, each generation writes off earlier errors as the result of bad thinking by less able minds - and then confidently embarks on fresh errors of its own."

— Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

human people think repeatdifferent view conformist illusion

"Human beings never think for themselves. For the most part, members of our species simply repeat what they are told - and become upset if they are exposed to any different view. The characteristic human trait is not awareness but conformity. We are stubborn, self-destructive conformists. Any other view of our species is just a self-congratulatory delusion."

— Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

destroy planet vanity blink

"You think you can destroy the planet? What intoxicating vanity. . . . . We've been residents here for the blink of an eye. If we're gone tomorrow, the earth will not miss us."

— Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

know doing always

“We think we know what we are doing. We have always thought so.”

— Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

scientific power inherited wealth congenitally rich asshole

“You know what's wrong with scientific power? It's a form of inherited wealth. And you know what assholes congenitally rich people are.”

— Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

consensus scoundrel wallet fraud

"Historically, the claim of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels; it is a way to avoid debate by claiming that the matter is already settled. Whenever you hear the consensus of scientists agrees on something or other, reach for your wallet, because you're being had. The greatest scientists in history are great precisely because they broke with the consensus."

— Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

centuries people saved improve freed educated boredom entertain

“In other centuries, human beings wanted to be saved, or improved, or freed, or educated. But in our century, they want to be entertained. The great fear is not of disease or death, but of boredom. A sense of time on our hands, a sense of nothing to do. A sense that we are not amused.”

— Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

living system equilibrium unstable collapse

“Living systems are never in equilibrium. They are inherently unstable. They may seem stable, but they’re not. Everything is moving and changing. In a sense, everything is on the edge of collapse.”

— Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

planet jeopardy power save ourselves

“Let's be clear. The planet is not in jeopardy. We are in jeopardy. We haven't got the power to destroy the planet - or to save it. But we might have the power to save ourselves.”

— Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

information society thinking banish paper thought digital

“In the information society, nobody thinks. We expected to banish paper, but we actually banished thought.”

— Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

certainty world

“I am certain there is too much certainty in the world.”

— Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

consensus science irreevant reproducible results

“In science, consensus is irrelevant. What is relevant is reproducible results. The greatest scientists in history are great precisely because they broke with the consensus… There is no such thing as consensus science. If it’s consensus, it isn’t science. If it’s science, it isn’t consensus. Period.”

— Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

consensus science politics

“The work of science has nothing whatsoever to do with consensus. Consensus is the business of politics. Science, on the contrary, requires only one investigator who happens to be right, which means that he or she has results that are verifiable by reference to the real world."

— Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

challenge mankind distinguish reality fantasy truth propaganda

"The greatest challenge facing mankind is the challenge of distinguishing reality from fantasy, truth from propaganda."

— Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

concensus science irrelevant reproducible result

— Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

concensus science politics investigator real world

— Michael Crichton (1942-2008)