--- title: "10 Long Quotes By Alan Lightman" description: "10 Long quotes by Alan Lightman. Plus more from Alan Lightman and more Long sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98d/alan-lightman-2270_book_i-think-it-is-always-a-long-shot-getting_3109588.png" --- > [I think it is always a long shot getting a book made into a film. Making that book into a film is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-think-it-is-always-a-long-shot-getting-a-book-made-into-a-film/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98d/alan-lightman-2270_book_i-think-it-is-always-a-long-shot-getting_3109588.png) > [I have always loved magic realism as a form of writing. I have also been fascinated for a long time with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-have-always-loved-magic-realism-as-a-form-of-writing-i-have-also/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e2/alan-lightman-2270_fascinated_i-have-always-loved-magic-realism-as-a-f_2353059.png) > [People are content to live in contradictory worlds, so long as they know the reason for each.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/people-are-content-to-live-in-contradictory-worlds-so-long-as-they/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96f/alan-lightman-2270_contradictory_people-are-content-to-live-in-contradict_2785309.png) > [Some make light of decisions, arguing that all possible decisions will occur. In such a world, how could one be responsible for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/some-make-light-of-decisions-arguing-that-all-possible-decisions-will/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/alan-lightman-2270_action_some-make-light-of-decisions-arguing-tha_2415959.jpg) > [When I used to play golf. It's a terrible miserable game. It's incredibly frustrating. In 18 holes you make 150 horrible shots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/when-i-used-to-play-golf-it-s-a-terrible-miserable-game-it-s/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/alan-lightman-2270_bits_when-i-used-to-play-golf-it-s-a-terrible_2286070.png) > [As long as God does not intervene in the contemporary universe in such a way as to violate physical laws, science has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/as-long-as-god-does-not-intervene-in-the-contemporary-universe-in/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/alan-lightman-2270_belief_as-long-as-god-does-not-intervene-in-the_94062.png) > [Although technology is proceeding at a dizzying pace, I believe that the human mind will always have control of itself. And since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/although-technology-is-proceeding-at-a-dizzying-pace-i-believe-that/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53e/alan-lightman-2270_believe_although-technology-is-proceeding-at-a-d_2175824.png) > [I have for a long time loved fabulist, imaginative fiction, such as the writing of Italo Calvino, Jose Saramago, Michael Bulgakov, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-have-for-a-long-time-loved-fabulist-imaginative-fiction-such-as-the/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/alan-lightman-2270_borges_i-have-for-a-long-time-loved-fabulist-im_3107508.png) > [I'm still happy with the way Einstein's Dreams came out. That book came out of a single inspiration. I really felt like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-m-still-happy-with-the-way-einstein-s-dreams-came-out-that-book/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/363/alan-lightman-2270_book_i-m-still-happy-with-the-way-einstein-s_2971428.jpg) > [Children grow rapidly, forget the centuries-long embrace from their parents, which to them lasted but seconds. Children become adults, live far from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/children-grow-rapidly-forget-the-centuries-long-embrace-from-their/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/997/alan-lightman-2270_adults_children-grow-rapidly-forget-the-centuri_1538087.jpg) ## Other authors on Long ## More by Alan Lightman > [“In a world of fixed future, there can be no right or wrong. Right and wrong demand freedom of choice, but if each action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-a-world-of-fixed-future-there-can-be-no-right-or-wrong-right-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“I've decided that has been the great achievement of our age: to so thoroughly flood the planet with megabits that every image and fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-ve-decided-that-has-been-the-great-achievement-of-our-age-to-so/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [Every reader gets something different from a book and every reader, in a sense, completes it in a different way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/every-reader-gets-something-different-from-a-book-and-every-reader-in/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > ["The Diagnosis" is by far my most ambitious book. I such great hopes for it... there was so much I wanted to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/the-diagnosis-is-by-far-my-most-ambitious-book-i-such-great-hopes-for/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [As long as God does not intervene in the contemporary universe in such a way as to violate physical laws, science has no way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/as-long-as-god-does-not-intervene-in-the-contemporary-universe-in/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [Except for a God who sits down after the universe begins, all other gods conflict with the assumptions of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/except-for-a-god-who-sits-down-after-the-universe-begins-all-other/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [Each person who gets stuck in time gets stuck alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/each-person-who-gets-stuck-in-time-gets-stuck-alone/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [A writer is someone who has a one-man tent in the desert and occasionally he sees the footprint of an other writer - in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/a-writer-is-someone-who-has-a-one-man-tent-in-the-desert-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [Time is a rigid, bonelike structure, extending infinitely ahead and behind, fossilizing the future as well as the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/time-is-a-rigid-bonelike-structure-extending-infinitely-ahead-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [For me, spirituality includes the belief in things larger than ourselves, an appreciation of nature and beauty, a sensitivity to the world, a feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/for-me-spirituality-includes-the-belief-in-things-larger-than/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [Writers are a loosely knit community - community is an overstated word. Writers don't see each other very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/writers-are-a-loosely-knit-community-community-is-an-overstated-word/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [Imagine a world in which there is no time. Only images.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/imagine-a-world-in-which-there-is-no-time-only-images/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [Time is the clarity for seeing right and wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/time-is-the-clarity-for-seeing-right-and-wrong/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [In this world, time has three dimensions, like space. Just as an object may move in three perpendicular directions, corresponding to horizontal, vertical, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-this-world-time-has-three-dimensions-like-space-just-as-an-object/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [In this world, there are two times. There is mechanical time and there is body time." "They do not keep clocks in their houses.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-this-world-there-are-two-times-there-is-mechanical-time-and-there/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/alan-lightman/#itemlist", "name": "10 Long Quotes By Alan Lightman", "numberOfItems": 10, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think it is always a long shot getting a book made into a film. 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The belief or disbelief in such a Being is therefore a matter of faith.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Lightman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/as-long-as-god-does-not-intervene-in-the-contemporary-universe-in/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/alan-lightman-2270_belief_as-long-as-god-does-not-intervene-in-the_94062.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/alan-lightman-2270_belief_as-long-as-god-does-not-intervene-in-the_94062.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/alan-lightman-2270_belief_as-long-as-god-does-not-intervene-in-the_94062.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As long as God does not intervene in the contemporary universe in such a way as to violate physical laws…” — Alan Lightman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Although technology is proceeding at a dizzying pace, I believe that the human mind will always have control of itself. And since the human mind has a degree of infinity and imagination unlikely to be matched by a machine for a very, very long time, I don't think that we will become the machines of the machines.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Lightman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/although-technology-is-proceeding-at-a-dizzying-pace-i-believe-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53e/alan-lightman-2270_believe_although-technology-is-proceeding-at-a-d_2175824.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53e/alan-lightman-2270_believe_although-technology-is-proceeding-at-a-d_2175824.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53e/alan-lightman-2270_believe_although-technology-is-proceeding-at-a-d_2175824.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Although technology is proceeding at a dizzying pace, I believe that the human mind will always have control…” — Alan Lightman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have for a long time loved fabulist, imaginative fiction, such as the writing of Italo Calvino, Jose Saramago, Michael Bulgakov, and Salman Rushdie. I also like the magic realist writers, such as Borges and Marquez, and feel that interesting truths can be learned about our world by exploring highly distorted worlds.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Lightman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-have-for-a-long-time-loved-fabulist-imaginative-fiction-such-as-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/alan-lightman-2270_borges_i-have-for-a-long-time-loved-fabulist-im_3107508.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/alan-lightman-2270_borges_i-have-for-a-long-time-loved-fabulist-im_3107508.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/alan-lightman-2270_borges_i-have-for-a-long-time-loved-fabulist-im_3107508.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have for a long time loved fabulist, imaginative fiction, such as the writing of Italo Calvino, Jose…” — Alan Lightman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm still happy with the way Einstein's Dreams came out. That book came out of a single inspiration. I really felt like I was not creating the words, that I was hearing the words. That someone else was speaking the words to me and I was just writing them down. It was a very strange experience. That can happen with a short book. 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I…” — Alan Lightman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Children grow rapidly, forget the centuries-long embrace from their parents, which to them lasted but seconds. Children become adults, live far from their parents, live their own houses, learn ways of their own, suffer pain, grow old. Children curse their parents for their wrinkled skin and hoarse voices. Those now old children also want to stop time, but at another time. 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