Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Quote by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

“I always had trouble ending short stories in ways that would satisfy a general public. In real life, as during a rerun following a timequake, people don't change, don't learn anything from their mistakes, and don't apologize. In a short story they have to do at least two out of three of those things, or you might as well throw it away in the lidless wire trash receptacle chained and padlocked to the fire hydrant in front of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.”

Quote by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Book:Timequake
Create image

Work

Timequake

In this thought-provoking work, the author delves into the idea of time as a recurring phenomenon, examining how sudden shifts in time perception can disrupt daily life and challenge the very fabric of reality. more

Author

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Browse famous quotes and profile details for Kurt Vonnegut Jr.. more

You May Also Like

“All our lives long, every day and every hour, we are engaged in the process of accommodating our changed and unchanged selves to changed and unchanged surroundings: living, in fact, is nothing else than this process of accommodation; when we fail in it a little, we are stupid, when flagrantly we are mad, when we give up the attempt altogether we die, when we suspend it temporarily we sleep. In quiet eventless lives the changes internal and external are so small that there is little or no strain in the process of fusion and accommodation; in other lives there is great strain, but there is also great fusing and accommodating power; in others great strain with little accommodating power. A life will be successful or not according as the power of accommodation is equal to or unequal to the strain of fusing and adjusting internal and external changes.”

LifeChangeAdapting To Change
Book:The Way of All Flesh
Create image

“Study, along the lines which the theologies have mapped, will never lead us to discovery of the fundamental facts of our existence. That goal must be attained by means of exact science and can only be achieved by such means. The fact that man, for ages, has superstitiously believed in what he calls a God does not prove at all that his theory has been right. There have been many gods – all makeshifts, born of inability to fathom the deep fundamental truth. There must be something at the bottom of existence, and man, in ignorance, being unable to discover what it is through reason, because his reason has been so imperfect, undeveloped, has used, instead, imagination, and created figments, of one kind or another, which, according to the country he was born in, the suggestions of his environment, satisfied him for the time being. Not one of all the gods of all the various theologies has ever really been proved. We accept no ordinary scientific fact without the final proof; why should we, then, be satisfied in this most mighty of all matters, with a mere theory? Destruction of false theories will not decrease the sum of human happiness in future, any more than it has in the past... The days of miracles have passed. I do not believe, of course, that there was ever any day of actual miracles. I cannot understand that there were ever any miracles at all. My guide must be my reason, and at thought of miracles my reason is rebellious. Personally, I do not believe that Christ laid claim to doing miracles, or asserted that he had miraculous power... Our intelligence is the aggregate intelligence of the cells which make us up. There is no soul, distinct from mind, and what we speak of as the mind is just the aggregate intelligence of cells. It is fallacious to declare that we have souls apart from animal intelligence, apart from brains. It is the brain that keeps us going. There is nothing beyond that. Life goes on endlessly, but no more in human beings than in other animals, or, for that matter, than in vegetables. Life, collectively, must be immortal, human beings, individually, cannot be, as I see it, for they are not the individuals – they are mere aggregates of cells. There is no supernatural. We are continually learning new things. There are powers within us which have not yet been developed and they will develop. We shall learn things of ourselves, which will be full of wonders, but none of them will be beyond the natural. [Columbian Magazine interview]”

InspirationalSoulReasonTruthScienceWonderStudyTheoryDestructionSatisfactionTheologyImmortalityFalsehoodGodsMiraclesSuperstitiousNaturalismMakeshift
Author:Thomas A. Edison
Create image

“Sitting here in awe of what God just spoke to me that I had to share it with you. Here’s your word for today! Prophetic Word: The Freedom to Choose Listen… God is positioning you before a table of divine opportunities. Not just one door—but several. Each one carries favor. Each one is marked with grace. And here’s the word: You choose. He’s not forcing your hand. He’s honoring your growth. He trusts your discernment. And whichever path you take—you win. No one loses. No blessing is forfeited. No promise is delayed. Because this is not about competition—it’s about completion. You’re stepping into a season where obedience and freedom walk hand in hand. So breathe. Decide. Move. Heaven is backing you either way. Hallelujah”

ChoicesChangeOpportunitiesChooseTake ActionOpen DoorsTake Risks
Author:Dr. Angela L. Hood
Create image

“It was an important moment in my life when I realized the consensus is often wrong. When everyone agrees, it's a good time to ask why. Crowds don't gather around truth; they gather around comfort and predictability. Real insight often lives on the edges - in the unpopular opinions, the uncomfortable questions, and within the people willing to see differently. I learned not to follow the crowd, but to think for myself.”

PhilosophyWisdomCultureChangeConsciousnessSociety
Author:Joe Martino
Create image