Quotes from Isaac Asimov

People sometimes mistake their own shortcomings for those of society and want to fix the Cities because they don't know how to fix themselves.

Now then, young man, don't ask me to stop the Pumping. The economy and comfort of the entire planet depend on it. Tell me, instead, how to keep the Pumping from exploding the Sun.

La religión es una de las grandes influencias civilizadoras de la historia

Desde el punto de vista sociológico, es como si, cuando el viejo Imperio empezó a descomponerse en sus bordes, la ciencia les hubiese fallado a los mundos periféricos. Para que volvieran a aceptarla, tenía que aparecer disfrazada de otra cosa... Y eso es justo lo que ha pasado. Y ha funcionado a las mil maravillas.

Science may be, and has been, misused, but the proper cure for that is not to replace science by non-science and sense by nonsense - but to replace science-misused by science well-used.

According to our calculations, you have now reached domination of the barbarian kingdoms immediately surrounding the Foundation. Just as in the first crisis you held them off by the use of the Balance of Power, so in the second, you gained mastery by the Spiritual Power as against the Temporal.

the Earth in general can only support so much animal life, and for every aditional pound of human beings and his animal favorites, a pound of other animal life must disappear.

The creation tale of Genesis is very impressive, even in modern terms, if it is treated symbolically and allegorically. But again, the tendency for many people is to accept it literally and to fight ferociously against deviating from it by one iota.

Somewhere in the plant (Baley had no idea exactly where) a pound of fissionable material was consumed each day. Every so often, the radioactive fission products, the so-called "hot ash," were forced by air pressure through leaden pipes to distant caverns ten miles out in the ocean and a half mile below the ocean floor.

Anything could be found in figures if the search were long enough and hard enough and if the proper pieces of information were ignored or overlooked

Even the sternest oppression, however, cannot stop human thought forever.

There had always been prophets of Malthusian doom in every generation since Medieval times and they had always proven wrong.

en muchas ocasiones las reacciones humanas no parecen seguir con lógica los acontecimientos. —Eso es lo que hace difícil decidir, a veces, lo que puede dañar a un ser humano y lo que no.

Noys se acercaba lentamente hacia sus brazos, había llegado el fin de la Eternidad... ...Y el comienzo del Infinito.

era RG-32 la elección lógica; de hecho, la única. No fue difícil explicarle de algún modo lo que necesitábamos. Archie (era costumbre llamar a un robot por alguna perversión vulgar de su número de serie)

You'll have such proof as exists. You are the only one responsible for your own wants.

Forse non esiste una fine nella scienza e ciò è anche un bene perché un universo senza misteri sarebbe insopportabilmente noioso. (da Il libro di biologia )

NEMESIS THE GODS THEMSELVES FANTASTIC VOYAGE I, ASIMOV

it is well known that the friend of a conqueror is but the last victim

When people thought the earth was flat, they were wrong. When people thought the earth was spherical, they were wrong. But if you think that thinking the earth is spherical is just as wrong as thinking the earth is flat, then your view is wronger than both of them put together.

I know. A fire eater must eat fire even if he has to kindle it himself. And you, Lee, have got to worry even if you must kill yourself to invent something to worry about.

Well, he used to say that only a lie that wasn't ashamed of itself could possibly succeed. He also said that nothing had to be true, but everything had to sound true.

Y AC dijo: ¡HÁGASE LA LUZ! Y la luz se hizo...

Where history concerns mainly personalities, the drawings become either black or white according to the interests of the writer. I find it all remarkably useless.