Ted Chiang Quotes

Nothing erases the past. There is repentance, there is atonement, and there is forgiveness. That is all, but that is enough.

Four things do not come back: the spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life, and the neglected opportunity.

Science fiction is very well suited to asking philosophical questions; questions about the nature of reality, what it means to be human, how do we know the things that we think we know.

It is a misconception to think that during evolution humans sacrificed physical skill in exchange for intelligence: wielding one's body is a mental activity.

Contemplate the marvel that is existence, and rejoice that you are able to do so.

Brain damage is never a good idea, no matter what your friends say.

The prospect of living without interference, living in a world where windfalls and misfortunes were never by design, held no terror for him.

The hush of the night sky is the silence of a graveyard.

When Arecibo is not listening to anything else, it hears the voice of creation.

From the beginning I knew my destination, and I chose my route accordingly. But am I working toward an extreme of joy, or of pain? Will I achieve a minimum, or a maximum?

Like physical events with their causal and teleological interpretations, every linguistic event had two possible interpretations: as a transmission of information and as the realization of a plan.