"One mans religion is another mans belly laugh".
—Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.”
― Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
“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 (1920-1992)
“Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived.”
― Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
“Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is.”
― Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
“If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.”
― Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
“In life, unlike chess, the game continues after checkmate.”
― Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
“Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest.”
― Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
“Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.”
― Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
“It is the chief characteristic of the religion of science that it works.”
― Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
“Now any dogma, based primarily on faith and emotionalism, is a dangerous weapon to use on others, since it is almost impossible to guarantee that the weapon will never be turned on the user.”
― Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
“Weak emperors mean strong viceroys.”
― Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
"People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do."
—Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
"The true delight is in the finding out rather than in the knowing".
—Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
"When I read about the way in which library funds are being cut and cut, I can only think that American society has found one more way to destroy itself."
—Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
“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 (1920-1992)
“You can prove anything you want by coldly logical reason—if you pick the proper postulates.”
—Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
“Postulates are based on assumption and adhered to by faith. Nothing in the Universe can shake them.”
—Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
"Since emotions are few and reasons are many (said the robot Giscard) the behavior of a crowd can be more easily predicted than the behavior of one person."
—Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
“Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.’”
—Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
“I made up my mind long ago to follow one cardinal rule in all my writing—to be clear. I have given up all thought of writing poetically or symbolically or experimentally, or in any of the other modes that might (if I were good enough) get me a Pulitzer prize. I would write merely clearly and in this way establish a warm relationship between myself and my readers, and the professional critics—Well, they can do whatever they wish.”
—Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
"Your assumptions are your window on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in."
—Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
"How often people speak of art and science as though they were two entirely different things, with no interconnection.
An artist is emotional, they think, and uses only his intuition; he sees all at once and has no need of reason. A scientist is cold, they think, and uses only his reason; he argues carefully step-by-step, and needs no imagination.
That is all wrong.
The true artist is quite rational as well as imaginative and knows what he is doing; if he does not, his art suffers. The true scientist is quite imaginative as well as rational, and sometimes leaps to solutions where reason can follow only slowly; if he does not, his science suffers."
—Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
“The world in general disapproves of creativity.”
—Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
“The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”
—Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)