Quotes

John Castle · Aug 25, 2013

There are two kinds of truth: the truth that lights the way and the truth that warms the heart. The first of these is science, and the second is art. Neither is independent of the other or more important than the other. Without art science would be as useless as a pair of high forceps in the hands of a plumber. Without science art would become a crude mess of folklore and emotional quackery. The truth of art keeps science from becoming inhuman, and the truth of science keeps art from becoming ridiculous.
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Hollywood is wonderful. Anyone who doesn't like it is either crazy or sober.
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John Castle · Aug 26, 2013

“The word "We" is as lime poured over men, which sets and hardens to stone, and crushes all beneath it, and that which is white and that which is black are lost equally in the grey of it. It is the word by which the depraved steal the virtue of the good, by which the weak steal the might of the strong, by which the fools steal the wisdom of the sages.

What is my joy if all hands, even the unclean, can reach into it? What is my wisdom, if even the fools can dictate to me? What is my freedom, if all creatures, even the botched and impotent, are my masters? What is my life, if I am but to bow, to agree and to obey?

But I am done with this creed of corruption.

I am done with the monster of "We," the word of serfdom, of plunder, of misery, falsehood and shame.

And now I see the face of god, and I raise this god over the earth, this god whom men have sought since men came into being, this god who will grant them joy and peace and pride.

This god, this one word:

"I.”
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The Exception · Aug 26, 2013

John Castle said: ↑

“The word "We" is as lime poured over men, which sets and hardens to stone, and crushes all beneath it, and that which is white and that which is black are lost equally in the grey of it. It is the word by which the depraved steal the virtue of the good, by which the weak steal the might of the strong, by which the fools steal the wisdom of the sages.

What is my joy if all hands, even the unclean, can reach into it? What is my wisdom, if even the fools can dictate to me? What is my freedom, if all creatures, even the botched and impotent, are my masters? What is my life, if I am but to bow, to agree and to obey?

But I am done with this creed of corruption.

I am done with the monster of "We," the word of serfdom, of plunder, of misery, falsehood and shame.

And now I see the face of god, and I raise this god over the earth, this god whom men have sought since men came into being, this god who will grant them joy and peace and pride.

This god, this one word:

"I.”
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It's sad that I know that was Ayn Rand without doing a search.

John Castle · Aug 26, 2013

The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.
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All things are subject to interpretation; whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.
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“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
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“Society exists only as a mental concept; in the real world there are only individuals.”
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“It is vain to talk of the interest of the community, without understanding what is the interest of the individual.”
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John Castle · Aug 28, 2013

I go to bed angry every night, I wake up angry every morning. There are certain injustices in this life you’ve got to do something about. You can’t just say that you can’t fight it, or it’s too much trouble, or that you don’t have the time or the effort, or that you can’t win. Forget all that. Fight them all! I fight them all because you never know which one is the big one. You never know which you give up and then it will come back and bite you in the ass. You never look away from a mountain lion, you lock eyes and you don’t let him get behind you.
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NAHTMMM · Aug 30, 2013

Terry Pratchett said:

Just because it's not nice doesn't mean it's not miraculous.
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Spencer Silver on developing Post-Its said:

If I had thought about it, I wouldn't have done the experiment. The literature was full of examples that said you can't do this.
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Niels Bohr said:

The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth.
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NAHTMMM · Sep 21, 2013

oh hey, look who found his quote files

Ambrose Bierce said:

Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.
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Bucky Katt said:

If you hate one dog, you're bigoted. If you hate all dogs, you're consistent.
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Jack Handy said:

If your friend is already dead, and being eaten by vultures, I think it's okay to feed some bits of your friend to one of the vultures, to teach him to do some tricks. But only if you're serious about adopting the vulture.
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And from a bunch of quotes about light:

James Thurber said:

There are two kinds of light - the glow that illumines, and the glare that obscures.
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Blaise Pascal said:

In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don't.
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Edith Wharton said:

There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
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And then a few from Dream Makers, which I recommend if you like thinking about sci-fi, insights into writing, or insights into writing sci-fi in the old days:

Frederik Pohl said:

[Science fiction] is the only kind of writing that allows you to look at the world we live in and change one piece at a time. What I mean is the process of taking the world apart, taking some elements and throwing them away, replacing them with others and seeing how the thing works after that. I think that that is very valuable.
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Alfred Bester said:

It's like Heinlein, once I said, come on, how do you write, kid? And Robert said, I'll tell you what I do. He said, it's like a man in the street is passing by; I reach out, I grab him by the lapels, and I pull him into a doorway, and shake him until his teeth rattle. And that's what Harlan [Ellison] does, and I admire him tremendously.
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Gregory Benford said:

But there's another thing, in that problem-solving stories often mislead you about the nature of science. Because science doesn't fundamentally solve problems, ever. It erects the best possible model at the moment. All people, science-fiction writers included, tend to want certainties, or they like problems to be nailed down, forever. But the habit of mind that the scientist should have is that you know you haven't got the full answer, you know your model is wrong in some regard. [...] That habit of mind--of partial solutions, and remaining somewhat skeptical even of highly-valued theories--doesn't come through in science fiction, because everybody's trying to put the lid on problems, and tie it all up neatly at the end.
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John Castle Banned Writer

John Castle Banned Writer

The Exception The One Who Will Be Administrator Super Moderator

John Castle Banned Writer

John Castle Banned Writer

NAHTMMM Perpetually sondering

NAHTMMM Perpetually sondering

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Quotes

John Castle Banned Writer

John Castle Banned Writer

The Exception The One Who Will Be Administrator Super Moderator

John Castle Banned Writer

John Castle Banned Writer

NAHTMMM Perpetually sondering

NAHTMMM Perpetually sondering

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