"Pioneering is an unlimited chance to become the biggest frog, provided the puddle is small enough."

Poul Anderson Literature See all quotes by Poul Anderson →

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“Life isn’t a fairy tale; the knight who kills the dragon doesn’t necessarily get the princess. So what? Who’d want to live in a cosmos less rich and various than the real one?”

“Men, whose span is cruelly short, rush nonetheless to death in their youth as to a maiden’s arms.”

“On our Earth, we’ve perforce learned all the knavery there is to know.”

“It was lonely, not even knowing yourself.”

“Heim ignored the mob scene on the 3V, rested his eyes on the cold serenity of the Milky Way and thought that this, at least, would endure.”

“What’s the point of our living all these centuries if we haven’t grown up even a little?”

Resonant Thoughts

"he types of models that we form right now are not sparse enough... which means that, ideally, every potential model state should correspond to a potential world state. So... if you vary states in your…"

— Joscha Bach

Philosophy1973

#family

"If you are resolutely determined to make a lawyer of yourself, the thing is more than half done already. It is but a small matter whether you read with anyone or not. I did not read with anyone. Get t…"

— Abraham Lincoln

Politics1744–1786

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"Half a century ago, the first feeling of all Englishmen was for England. Now, the sympathies of a powerful party are instinctively given to whatever is against England. It may be Boers or Baboos, or R…"

— Robert Gascoyne-Cecil

Politics1830–1903

#science

"As long as we dwell in the shadow, we cannot see the sun itself; but Now we see through a glass darkly, says St. Paul. Yet the shadow is so enlightened by the sunshine that we can perceive the distinc…"

— John Ruysbroeck

Literature1293–1381

#family