Jack McDevitt Quotes
It is not faith per se that creates the problem; it is conviction, the notion that one cannot be wrong, that opposing views are necessarily invalid and may even be intolerable.
The uplifters are forever running around telling blockheads they would do better if they would believe in themselves. But they already do. That is why they are blockheads.
The measure of a civilization is in the courage, not of its soldiers, but of its bystanders.
... the truth is that when your people don't tell you what you need to know, it's a failure of leadership.
Boundaries have no existence save on charts or in small minds. Nature does not draw lines.
Man has always seen himself the peak of creation. The part of the universe that thinks. The purpose for it all. It's no doubt a gratifying view, but the universe may have a different opinion.
Show me what a people admire, and I will tell you everything about them that matters.
Katie commented that Americans had lost the ability to enjoy themselves. "We watch television," Dave said.
If you're paying attention to your wardrobe, Rudy believed, your mind isn't sufficiently occupied.
All of the important things ... will turn out to be universally shared. It's why there will be no true aliens.
The Peacekeepers had a tradition that every problem had a solution. It was a nice slogan. Wasn't true, but it sounded good.
There is no justice. There are occasional acts of vengeance, or regret, but there's no real justice. In the natural scheme of things, it is not possible.
But, come to think of it, there was no need to wait. Time travelers don't have to wait for anybody.
Of course, they (i. e., demons) had always been observed with some regularity, but that could usually be ascribed to an overabundance of piety or wine or imagination. Take your pick.
Truth, beaten down, may well rise again. But there's a reason it gets beaten down. Usually, we don't like it very much.
If you want creative and successful children, resign yourself to jousting with rebels.
Universal deities ... never seem to smile. Not in any culture. What's the point of having omnipotence if you don't enjoy it?
The problem is that too often the only people who can act don't want change. Power doesn't so much corrupt as it breeds conservatism.
Faith is conviction without evidence, and sometimes even in the face of contrary evidence. In some quarters, this quality is perceived as a virtue.
Don't assume that a species is intelligent because it produces intelligent individuals.
Decisions are always made with insufficient information. If you really knew what was going on, the decision would make itself.
Talking with most people usually involves a search for truth. Talking with congressmen is strictly special effects.
If you're right, and nobody really cares what's out there, I wonder whether we're even worth saving.
Technological civilizations don't last long. You're all right until you get a printing press. Then a race starts between technology and common sense. And maybe technology always wins.
The secret to a successful career in virtually any field is good public relations. Forget results. Forget the facts. Perception is all that matters.
So we have progressed to the point where we can move politicians around faster than light. I'm not sure I see the advantage.
One could not always put safety up front as the prime goal. Do that, and who would ever achieve anything of note?
What would happen is that people like Geroge and Alyx would grow old and die chasing a dream. Although there were probably worse things to do with one's life.
So long as you believe in some truth you do not believe in yourself. You are a servant. A man of faith.
The cultures we can look at had already grasped the essential unity of nature. No board of gods can survive that knowledge.