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Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov Quotes

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Famous Isaac Asimov Quotes

“Although we will hate and fight the machines, we will be supplanted anyway, and rightly so, for the intelligent machines to which we will give birth may, better than we, carry on the striving toward the goal of understanding and using the Universe, climbing to heights we ourselves could never aspire to.”

GivingMayHateFightingUniverseUnderstandingGoalModernBirthMachinesIntelligentStriveHeightClimbingAspireModern LifeIntelligent Machines
Book:Past, Present, and Future
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“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.”

FirstsHumansMayLongDoeLawHumanityOrderThreeGivenHuman BeingsExistenceProtectConflictProtectionHarmRobotsInactionRobotics
Book:In memory yet green: the autobiography of Isaac Asimov, 1920-1954
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“Isn't it sad that you can tell people that the ozone layer is being depleted, the forests are being cut down, the deserts are advancing steadily, that the greenhouse effect will raise the sea level 200 feet, that overpopulation is choking us, that pollution is killing us, that nuclear war may destroy us - and they yawn and settle back for a comfortable nap. But tell them that the Martians are landing, and they scream and run.”

PeopleMayWarRunningLevelsCuttingSeaFeetEffectsComfortableRaisesKillingNuclearForestsDesertSettlingScreamLayersPollutionChokeAdvancingNapsLandingNuclear WarGreenhousesOverpopulationMartiansOzoneOzone Layer
Book:The secret of the universe
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“Science is dangerous. There is no question but that poison gas, genetic engineering, and nuclear weapons and power stations are terrifying. It may be that civilization is falling apart and the world we know is coming to an end. In that case, why no turn to religion and look forward to the Day of Judgment, ... [being] lifted into eternal bliss ... [and] watching the scoffers and disbelievers writhe forever in torment.”

KnowsWorldLooksMayEndsScienceReligionTurnsFallCasesForeverDangerousCivilizationJudgmentEternalWeaponsAccountsNuclearBlissPoisonGasStationsEngineeringNuclear WeaponsTormentFalling ApartGenetic EngineeringComing To An EndPoison GasScoffersDisbelievers
Author:Isaac Asimov
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“Why continue? Because we must. Because we have the call. Because it is nobler to fight for rationality without winning than to give up in the face of continued defeats. Because whatever true progress humanity makes is through the rationality of the occasional individual and because any one individual we may win for the cause may do more for humanity than a hundred thousand who hug their superstitions to their breast.”

GivingMayFacesHumanityFightingWinningIndividualCausesProgressAtheismThousandGiving UpHundredDefeatBreastsHumanistSuperstitionsHugRationalityOccasional
Author:Isaac Asimov
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“One might suppose that reality must be held to at all costs. However, though that may be the moral thing to do, it is not necessarily the most useful thing to do. The Greeks themselves chose the ideal over the real in their geometry and demonstrated very well that far more could be achieved by consideration of abstract line and form than by a study of the real lines and forms of the world; the greater understanding achieved through abstraction could be applied most usefully to the very reality that was ignored in the process of gaining knowledge.”

WorldWellsMayRealRealityMightFormProcessUnderstandingLinesMoralStudyGreaterCostIdealsMathGreekThings To DoAbstractConsiderationIgnoredAbstractionGeometryUseful ThingsGaining Knowledge
Author:Isaac Asimov
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“At two-tenths the speed of light, dust and atoms might not do significant damage even in a voyage of 40 years, but the faster you go, the worse it is--space begins to become abrasive. When you begin to approach the speed of light, hydrogen atoms become cosmic-ray particles, and they will fry the crew. ...So 60,000 kilometers per second may be the practical speed limit for space travel.”

YearsMayTwoLightMightSpaceLimitsApproachSpeedSignificantPracticalsDustFasterDamageRaysAtomsCosmicCrewParticlesVoyagesSpace TravelHydrogenSpeed Of LightSpeed LimitsCosmic RaysHydrogen Atom
Author:Isaac Asimov
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