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.

A subtle thought that is in error may yet give rise to fruitful inquiry that can establish truths of great value.

It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety.

The true delight is in the finding out rather than in the knowing.

Science fiction writers foresee the inevitable, and although problems and catastrophes may be inevitable, solutions are not.

Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.

I don't believe in personal immortality; the only way I expect to have some version of such a thing is through my books.

I write for the same reason I breathe - because if I didn't, I would die.

It is not only the living who are killed in war.

Meanwhile, fears of universal disaster sank to an all time low over the world.

Dalton's records, carefully preserved for a century, were destroyed during the World War II bombing of Manchester. It is not only the living who are killed in war.

From my close observation of writers... they fall into two groups: 1) those who bleed copiously and visibly at any bad review, and 2) those who bleed copiously and secretly at any bad review.

John Dalton's records, carefully preserved for a century, were destroyed during the World War II bombing of Manchester. It is not only the living who are killed in war.

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.

People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.

The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.

Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.

The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'

Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.

I don't believe in an afterlife, so I don't have to spend my whole life fearing hell, or fearing heaven even more. For whatever the tortures of hell, I think the boredom of heaven would be even worse.