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Isaac Asimov Quotebook

"Stand By For Mars!"

Isaac Asimov Quotebook

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The Isaac Asimov Quotebook Search hundreds of pages of The Thunder Child for practically any science fiction topic you're looking for. Your search results will open in a new window. If you don't find what you're looking for, you can also search the web.   Web thethunderchild.com Searching! Searching! Searching! Compiled by Averil Chase Return to the ASIMOV QUOTES INDEX Asimov on Science and Science Fiction: [Books][Coining Terms] [Eye Sci Fi][Science Fiction][Science and Technology] [SF Writers][Superman] Asimov on Everything Else: [Asimov] [Education] [the Future] [Myth and Religion] [People] [Shakespeare] [Time] [Writing] on Science and Technology Mankind has always chosen to counter the evils of technology, not by abandonment of technology, but by additional technology. "The Myth of the Machine," Science Fiction: Contemporary Mythology, ed Warrick, et al. Asimov on Science Fiction, pg. 132 Robot Visions, pg. 436 It was always taken for granted, right down into the twentieth century, that all worlds were inhabited, not only by living things, but by intelligent living things. "Beyond Our Brain," Mind and Superman, Albert Rosenfeld, ed., 1977 Asimov on Science Fiction, pg. 125 A machine does not "turn against its creator" if it is properly designed. "Robots I Have Known," Computers and Automation, October 1954 Robot Visions, pg. 406 It's all very well to reason and deduce, but nothing beats actual observation. "Into the Here," Magazine of F & SF, December 1988 Out of the Everywhere, pg. 45 Scientists are human and can be driven by hopes and desires into error and folly. Science is and should be international. The intrusion of patriotism and ideology can only be mischievous. Science has a strong tendency to be self correcting. Confirmation of all findings are required and it is not easy to come by. Without confirmation, findings are thrown out. In science...one cannot make up for stupidity and incompetence by cultivating a charming smile and a carefree wave of the hand. "The Radiation That Wasn't," Magazine of S & SF, March 1988 Out of the Everywhere, pg. 138-139 There's a great deal about astronomical magnetic fields that people do not understand. "From Pole to Pole," Magazine of S & SF, May 1988 Out of the Everywhere, pg. 115 In my stories, I always make it clear that the Laws, especially the First Law, are an inalienable part of all robots and that robots cannot and do not disobey them. I also make it clear, though perhaps not as forcefully, that these Laws aren't inherent in robots. The ores and raw chemicals of which robots are formed do not already contain the Laws. The Laws are there only because they are deliberately added to the design of the robot brain. Robots can fail to possess the Laws, either because they are too simple and crude...or because people designing the robots deliberately choose not to include the Laws in their computerized makeup. "Robot As Enemy," American Airlines, 1979 Robot Visions, pg. 447 Scientists dislike asymmetries, for they offend the aesthetic sense and interfere with simplicity (the be-all and end-all of perfect science). "The Subatomic Monster," Magazine of F & SF, February 1984 The Subatomic Monster, pg. 21 Astronomers are either unusually knowledgeable about mythology, or are desperate enough to hunt through large compendia. "Updating the Satellites," Magazine of F & SF, October 1983 The Subatomic Monster, pg. 64 Elegance is powerfully attractive to mathematicians and scientists but it is no absolute guarantee of truth. "The Two Masses," Magazine of F & SF, June 1984 The Subatomic Monster, pg. 47 Skillful use of fire is the fundamental basis of human technology. "More Thinking About Thinking," Magazine of F & SF, November 1983 The Subatomic Monster, pg. 135 If we are to have a space technology it will be supported in the main by mining stations on the Moon. "Where All the Sky is Sunshine," Magazine of F & SF, September 1983 The Subatomic Monster, pg. 170 The practical application of an observed phenomenon does not have to wait for a proper scientific explanation. "Where All the Sky is Sunshine," Magazine of F & SF, September 1983 The Subatomic Monster, pg. 173 If a scientist has one piece of temperamental equipment that is essential to his job, it is that of a built-in doubter. Before he does anything he must doubt. He must doubt what others tell him and what he reads in reference books, and most of all, what his own experiments show him and what his own reasoning tells him. "My Built-in Doubter," Magazine of F & SF, April 1961 Fact and Fancy, pg. 238 Doubting is far more important to the advance of science than believing is and ..., moreover, doubting is a serious business that requires extensive training to be handled properly. People without training in a particular field do not know what to doubt and what not to doubt, or, to put it conversely, what to believe and what not to believe. "My Built-in Doubter," Magazine of F & SF, April 1961 Fact and Fancy, pg. 239 Scientific theories have a tendency to fit the intellectual fashions of the time. "The Weighting Game," Magazine of F & SF, April 1962 View From A Height, pg. 77 All quotes maintain their original copyright and are presented here for research, reference and review. Click on the icons for new features in The Thunder Child. Radiation Theater: 1950s Sci Fi Movies Discussion Boards The Sand Rock Sentinel: Ripped From the Headlines of 1950s Sci Fi Films

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