--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And [Asimov]'ll sign anything, hardbacks…" description: "\"And [Asimov]'ll sign anything, hardbacks, softbacks, other people's books, scraps of paper. Inevitably someone handed him a blank check on the occasion..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fb/isaac-asimov-309_asimov_and-asimov-ll-sign-anything-hardbacks-so_2858768.jpg" --- # And \[Asimov\]'ll sign anything, hardbacks, softbacks, other… ![“And [Asimov]'ll sign anything, hardbacks, softbacks, other people's books, scraps of paper. Inevitably someone handed him a blank check on the occasion when I was there, and he signed that without as much as a waver to his smile — except that he signed: 'Harlan Ellison.” quote by Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fb/isaac-asimov-309_asimov_and-asimov-ll-sign-anything-hardbacks-so_2858768.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fb/isaac-asimov-309_asimov_and-asimov-ll-sign-anything-hardbacks-so_2858768.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fb/isaac-asimov-309_asimov_and-asimov-ll-sign-anything-hardbacks-so_2858768.jpg) > “And \[Asimov\]'ll sign anything, hardbacks, softbacks, other people's books, scraps of paper. Inevitably someone handed him a blank check on the occasion when I was there, and he signed that without as much as a waver to his smile — except that he signed: 'Harlan Ellison.” [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ellison signed a blank check without hesitation, showing blind trust or reckless confidence. **In simple terms:** Blind trust can lead to reckless actions. Key Takeaway Beware of signing without scrutiny. Themes trust recklessness commitment Mood cautious analytical Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - business contracts - personal promises - creative collaborations Key Concepts psychology risk management Questions to Reflect On - When should you demand details before signing? - What risks are acceptable? A Different Perspective Blind trust can be exploited. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asimov/) [Asimov Ll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asimov-ll-3845234/) [Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank/) [Blank check](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank-check/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Checks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/checks/) [Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harlan-ellison/) [His smile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/his-smile/) [Occasions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occasions/) [Paper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paper/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Scrap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scrap/) [Sign Hardbacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sign-hardbacks-3845235/) [Signed Harlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/signed-harlan-3845233/) ## Related quotes > [“the rotten tree-trunk, until the very moment when the storm-blast breaks it in two, has all the appearance of might it ever had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/the-rotten-tree-trunk-until-the-very-moment-when-the-storm-blast/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“It was odd how that last deed caught the imagination of the world. All that Andrew had done before had not swayed them. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-was-odd-how-that-last-deed-caught-the-imagination-of-the-world-all/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Right! Not that I particularly like having a robot tell me my job, nor that I think he can do it!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/right-not-that-i-particularly-like-having-a-robot-tell-me-my-job-nor/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Listen, Stephen King used to write in the washroom of his trailer after his kids went to sleep. Harlan Ellison wrote in the stall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-schaffer/listen-stephen-king-used-to-write-in-the-washroom-of-his-trailer/) [Bernard Schaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-schaffer/) > [“You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant. —Harlan Ellison”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tomasz-tunguz/you-are-not-entitled-to-your-opinion-you-are-entitled-to-your-2/) [Tomasz Tunguz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tomasz-tunguz/) > [There is Harlan Ellison the human being, who takes a crap a couple of times a day, and who farts, and who eats chicken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/there-is-harlan-ellison-the-human-being-who-takes-a-crap-a-couple-of/) [Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/) > [“In the shower today I tried to think about the best advice I'd ever been given by another writer. There was something that someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/in-the-shower-today-i-tried-to-think-about-the-best-advice-i-d-ever/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [If you don't care about science enough to be interested in it on its own, you shouldn't try to write hard science fiction. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/if-you-don-t-care-about-science-enough-to-be-interested-in-it-on-its/) [Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/) > [No one inspired me to write, but writer Harlan Ellison terrified me into getting published.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/no-one-inspired-me-to-write-but-writer-harlan-ellison-terrified-me/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Different influences at different times in my career, and some have stayed with me more, some less. Chester Himes. Ralph Dennis, who wrote a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-r-lansdale/different-influences-at-different-times-in-my-career-and-some-have/) [Joe R. Lansdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-r-lansdale/) > [“Having to amuse myself during those earlier years, I read voraciously and widely. Mythic matter and folklore made up much of that reading—retellings of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-lint/having-to-amuse-myself-during-those-earlier-years-i-read-voraciously/) [Charles de Lint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-lint/) > [“Now begin in the middle, and later learn the beginning; the end will take care of itself. – Harlan Ellison”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dathan-auerbach/now-begin-in-the-middle-and-later-learn-the-beginning-the-end-will/) [Dathan Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dathan-auerbach/) > [I drink a lot of beer, and that's the drug of choice. You find the drug that works for you. I know, for instance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-drink-a-lot-of-beer-and-that-s-the-drug-of-choice-you-find-the-drug/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The first time I met Harlan Ellison, we were both unpublished young punks in Cleveland, Ohio.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/the-first-time-i-met-harlan-ellison-we-were-both-unpublished-young/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [“People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do." Isaac Asimov”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohi-shetty/people-who-think-they-know-everything-are-a-great-annoyance-to-those/) [Rohi Shetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohi-shetty/) ## More by Isaac Asimov > [The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/the-strain-of-anti-intellectualism-has-been-a-constant-thread-winding/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Suppose that we are wise enough to learn and know-and yet not wise enough to control our learning and knowledge, so that we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/suppose-that-we-are-wise-enough-to-learn-and-know-and-yet-not-wise/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Uncertainty that comes from knowledge (knowing what you don't know) is different from uncertainty coming from ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/uncertainty-that-comes-from-knowledge-knowing-what-you-don-t-know-is/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Don't you see? It's Galaxy-wide. It's a worship of the past. It's a deterioration - a stagnation!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/don-t-you-see-it-s-galaxy-wide-it-s-a-worship-of-the-past-it-s-a/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [So the universe is not quite as you thought it was. You'd better rearrange your beliefs, then. Because you certainly can't rearrange the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/so-the-universe-is-not-quite-as-you-thought-it-was-you-d-better/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [It is in meeting the great tests that mankind can most successfully rise to great heights. Out of danger and restless insecurity comes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-is-in-meeting-the-great-tests-that-mankind-can-most-successfully/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“It might seem to you, Peter, that a truck driver, one step above an ape in your view, can't remember. But truck drivers can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-might-seem-to-you-peter-that-a-truck-driver-one-step-above-an-ape/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [When life is so harsh that a man loses all hope in himself, then he raises his eyes to a shining rock, worshipping it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/when-life-is-so-harsh-that-a-man-loses-all-hope-in-himself-then-he/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“You are a military man and should know better. If there is one science into which man has probed continuously and successfully, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/you-are-a-military-man-and-should-know-better-if-there-is-one-science/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“temperatura constante de mais ou menos 21 graus”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/temperatura-constante-de-mais-ou-menos-21-graus/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Human beings can tolerate an immortal robot, for it doesn't matter how long a machine lasts, but they cannot tolerate an immortal human being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/human-beings-can-tolerate-an-immortal-robot-for-it-doesn-t-matter-how/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“if people believe this, they would act on that belief. Many a prophecy, by the mere force of its being believed, is transmuted”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/if-people-believe-this-they-would-act-on-that-belief-many-a-prophecy/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [I do not use airplanes. They strike me as unsporting. You can have an automobile accident-and survive. You can be on a sinking ship-and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-do-not-use-airplanes-they-strike-me-as-unsporting-you-can-have-an/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [There are many aspects of the universe that still cannot be explained satisfactorily by science; but ignorance implies only ignorance that may someday be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/there-are-many-aspects-of-the-universe-that-still-cannot-be-explained/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. \[The Second Law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/a-robot-must-obey-the-orders-given-it-by-human-beings-except-where/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) [Explore all 671 Isaac Asimov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## More Asimov quotes > [“People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do." Isaac Asimov”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohi-shetty/people-who-think-they-know-everything-are-a-great-annoyance-to-those/) [Rohi Shetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohi-shetty/) > [I've read everything that Isaac Asimov ever wrote, for a start. I'm massively into my fantasy genre, anything by R.A. Salvatore or David Gemmell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kazinsky/i-ve-read-everything-that-isaac-asimov-ever-wrote-for-a-start-i-m/) [Robert Kazinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kazinsky/) > [Isaac Asimov is, in reality, based on something I had invented a few years previously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/isaac-asimov-is-in-reality-based-on-something-i-had-invented-a-few/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Asimov was the reason why we changed some rules in the SFWA, and I'm not convinced we changed it for the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-pournelle/asimov-was-the-reason-why-we-changed-some-rules-in-the-sfwa-and-i-m/) [Jerry Pournelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-pournelle/) > [My name is Bruce Feiler, and I'm an explainaholic. I first heard this word used to describe Isaac Asimov, and I knew instantly that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feiler/my-name-is-bruce-feiler-and-i-m-an-explainaholic-i-first-heard-this/) [Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feiler/) > [“Isaac Asimov’s remark about the infantilism of pseudoscience is just as applicable to religion: ‘Inspect every piece of pseudoscience and you will find a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/isaac-asimov-s-remark-about-the-infantilism-of-pseudoscience-is-just/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do. -Issac Asimov-](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keisha-v/people-who-think-they-know-everything-are-a-great-annoyance-to-those-2/) [Keisha V](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keisha-v/) > [For bedtime reading, I usually curl up with a good monograph on quantum physics or string theory, my specialty. But since I was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/for-bedtime-reading-i-usually-curl-up-with-a-good-monograph-on/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [“Far from disproving the existence of God, astronomers may be finding more circumstantial evidence that God exists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jastrow/far-from-disproving-the-existence-of-god-astronomers-may-be-finding/) [Robert Jastrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jastrow/) > [“Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy centers around the “Seldon Plan” to shorten a reversion period from 30,000 years to 1,000 years.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-tegmark/isaac-asimov-s-foundation-trilogy-centers-around-the-seldon-plan-to/) [Max Tegmark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-tegmark/) > [A story in Asimov's is read by hundreds of thousands of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/a-story-in-asimov-s-is-read-by-hundreds-of-thousands-of-people/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [We never had books at home, but my dad, seeing how keen I was to read, took me to Islington Library when I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-kemp/we-never-had-books-at-home-but-my-dad-seeing-how-keen-i-was-to-read/) [Gary Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-kemp/) > [It's hard not to like Asimov; he's a really likable guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/it-s-hard-not-to-like-asimov-he-s-a-really-likable-guy/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [“They spoke as if this were settled science. We’ll discuss the three laws in chapter 1, but it’s enough to say for now that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-barrat/they-spoke-as-if-this-were-settled-science-we-ll-discuss-the-three/) [James Barrat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-barrat/) > [There were four major 20th-century science fiction writers: Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein and Ray Bradbury. Of those four, the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-sawyer/there-were-four-major-20th-century-science-fiction-writers-arthur-c/) [Robert J. Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-sawyer/) [Browse all 37 Asimov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asimov/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "And [Asimov]'ll sign anything, hardbacks, softbacks, other people's books, scraps of paper. 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