David Brin Quotes

63 quotes in 1064 categories

• It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than…
• The worst mistake of first contact, made throughout history by individuals on both sides of every new encounter, has been the unfortunate habit of making…
• Only a knowledgeable, empowered and vocal citizenry can perform well in democracy.
• When it comes to privacy and accountability, people always demand the former for themselves and the latter for everyone else.
• My first duty to write a gripping yarn. Second is to convey credible characters who make you feel what they feel. Only third comes the…
• If you believe you can make a living as a writer, you already have enough ego.
• Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must be…
• In the book, America had already been weakened by bio terror plagues before waves of selfish violence took down the rest. But the real enemy…
• Reciprocal accountability, or criticism [is] the only known antidote to error.
• In the end, the work of diplomats continues even while others fight. So, it's not necessarily true that everyone needs to march.
• Cultural contamination that is directed outward is always seen as ‘enlightenment.
• The three basic material rights -- continuity, mutual obligation, and the pursuit of happiness.
• It's how creativity works. Especially in humans. For every good idea, ten thousand idiotic ones must first be posed, sifted, tried out, and discarded. A…
• In all of history, we have found just one cure for error—a partial antidote against making and repeating grand, foolish mistakes, a remedy against self-deception.…
• Every marvel of our age arose out of the critical give and take of an open society. No other civilization ever managed to incorporate this…
• Anyone who wants simple, pat stories should buy another author's product. The real universe ain't that way, and neither are my fictive ones.
• My education and background thoroughly inform my writing
• Above all, TRIBES is fun, and even kind of sexy... in that every round features an Opportunity for Reproduction, which is the main aim of…
• When I begin a book, I inevitably discover many things along the way, about the characters, their past histories and the political intrigues that surround…
• I find humans tremendously interesting

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