"I hate the whole übermensch, superman temptation that pervades science fiction. I believe no protagonist should be so competent, so awe-inspiring, that a committee of 20 really hard-working, intelligent people couldn't do the same thing."

David Brin Literature See all quotes by David Brin →

React to this quote

More by David Brin

“Alas, criticism has always been what human beings, especially leaders, most hate to hear.”

“What hope has any endeavor which is based on hate and fear?”

“Daisy had learned not to pay much heed to techno-fads. To her fell the task of preserving as much as possible, so that when humanity finally did fall, it wouldn’t take everything else to the grave with it.”

““After all,” he muttered, “what can they do to shake the confidence of a fellow who’s got delusions of adequacy?”

“Contrary Brin, David Brin's blog”

“Wisdom. No match for the troublemaker Curiosity.”

Resonant Thoughts

"I always felt that science as the preserve of people from Oxbridge or Ivy League universities — and not for the common mortal — was a very bad idea."

— Benoît Mandelbrot

Mathematics1924–2010

#science

"What are the hallmarks of a competent writer of fiction? The first, it seems to me, is that he should be immensely interested in human beings, and have an eye sharp enough to see into them, and a hand…"

— H. L. Mencken

Literature1880–1956

#writing

"If present dangers were to be averted there must be loyal aid from the whole masses of the people; there must be voluntary and spontaneous comradeship; and there must even be a measure of self-imposed…"

— Winston Churchill

Politics1940–2010

#freedom

"To be a simple animal like my father, untroubled by consciousness, or conscience. To sleep soundly, at east with your certainties, men as expendable as beef."

— Philipp Meyer

Literature1896–1962

#science