Individual science fiction stories may seem as trivial as ever to the blinder critics and philosophers of today - but the core of science fiction, its essence has become crucial to our salvation if we are to be saved at all.
I am not a speed reader. I am a speed understander.
Congratulations on the new library, because it isn't just a library. It is a space ship that will take you to the farthest reaches of the Universe, a time machine that will take you to the far past and the far future, a teacher that knows more than any human being, a friend that will amuse you and console you -- and most of all, a gateway, to a better and happier and more useful life. [Letters of Note; Troy (MI, USA) Public Library, 1971]
If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster.
No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.
It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety.
