Quotes and anectdotes from the wise to the foolish, and the courageous to the drunk

Isaac Asimov Novelist

  • Gender: Male
  • Citizenship: United States
  • Born: Jan 2, 1920
  • Died: Apr 6, 1992

Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. His books have been published in 9 of the 10 major categories of the Dewey Decimal Classification.

Asimov is widely considered a master of hard science fiction and, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, he was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers during his lifetime. Asimov's most famous work is the Foundation Series; his other major series are the Galactic Empire series and the Robot series. The Galactic Empire novels are explicitly set in earlier history of the same fictional universe as the Foundation series. Later, beginning with Foundation's Edge, he linked this distant future to the Robot and Spacer stories, creating a unified "future history" for his stories much like those pioneered by Robert A. Heinlein and previously produced by Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson.

I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them. computers & fear

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

It takes more than capital to swing business. You've got to have the A. I. D. degree to get by - Advertising, Initiative, and Dynamics. business

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

Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest. computers

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

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

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

If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them. knowledge

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

To insult someone we call him 'bestial. For deliberate cruelty and nature, 'human' might be the greater insult. nature

All sorts of computer errors are now turning up. You'd be surprised to know the number of doctors who claim they are treating pregnant men. medical & men

To surrender to ignorance and call it God has always been premature, and it remains premature today. God

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

There is a single light of science, and to brighten it anywhere is to brighten it everywhere. science

Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is. education