"An animal doesn’t need to develop curiosity and intelligence if it has no problems that need solving."

“They used their intelligence to control things around them, instead of letting nature and the strong-muscled have their way.”

“After a short flurry of national and international concern over the “death of the Sun,” the human race settled down to solving the insoluble problem in the best way that they knew—they ignored it and hoped it would go away.”

“If the computer had been a human, its eyebrows would have raised.”

“Do you realize that when I get back from this trip two years from now I am going to be getting more in royalties from children’s books than I will in salary for being a space scientist?”

“The Leader of the Combined Clans, although nominally a devout worshiper of the God Bright, was willing to compartmentalize her mind and look at the pictures without being bothered by the religious overtones.”

“You are lucky. Very few theoretical scientists ever see their mathematical equations turned into working hardware in their lifetime.”