Jack McDevitt Quotes - Page 2

Quotes about:

• People tend to believe that good fortune consists of equal parts talent, hard work, and sheer luck. It's hard to deny the roles of the latter two. As to talent, I would only say it consists primarily in finding the right moment to step in.

  Jack McDevitt

  Believe, Hard Work, Two

  Jack McDevitt (2003). “Chindi”, p.27, Penguin

  4 Copy quote

• All of the important things ... will turn out to be universally shared. It's why there will be no true aliens.

  Jack McDevitt

  Important, Aliens, Turns

  Jack McDevitt (1995). “The Engines of God”, p.99, Penguin

  4 Copy quote

• Most of us sleepwalk through our lives. We take all its glories, its wine, food, love, and friendship, its sunsets and its stars, its poetry and fireplaces and laughter, for granted. We forget that experience is not, or should not be, a casual encounter, but rather an embrace. Consequently, for too many of us, when we come to the end, we wonder where the years have gone. And we suspect we have not lived.

  Jack McDevitt

  Stars, Laughter, Wine

  4 Copy quote

• The Peacekeepers had a tradition that every problem had a solution. It was a nice slogan. Wasn't true, but it sounded good.

  Jack McDevitt

  Nice, Problem, Tradition

  "Chindi". Book by Jack McDevitt, 2002.

  4 Copy quote

• But, come to think of it, there was no need to wait. Time travelers don't have to wait for anybody.

  Jack McDevitt

  Thinking, Waiting, Needs

  Jack McDevitt (2009). “Time Travelers Never Die”, p.50, Penguin

  4 Copy quote

• There'd been studies over the years supporting the proposition that groups composed exclusively of women usually made intelligent decisions, that exclusively male groups did a bit less well, and that mixed groups did most poorly of all, by a substantial margin. It appeared that, when women were present, testosterone got the upper hand and men took greater risks than they might otherwise. Correspondingly, women in the mixed group tended to revert to roles, becoming more passive, and going along with whatever misjudgment the males might perpetrate.

  Jack McDevitt

  Intelligent, Men, Hands

  Jack McDevitt (2003). “Chindi”, p.463, Penguin

  4 Copy quote

• One could not always put safety up front as the prime goal. Do that, and who would ever achieve anything of note?

  Jack McDevitt

  Safety, Goal, Achieve

  Jack McDevitt (2003). “Chindi”, p.269, Penguin

  4 Copy quote

• What would happen is that people like Geroge and Alyx would grow old and die chasing a dream. Although there were probably worse things to do with one's life.

  Jack McDevitt

  Dream, People, Chasing

  Jack McDevitt (2003). “Chindi”, p.236, Penguin

  4 Copy quote

• So long as you believe in some truth you do not believe in yourself. You are a servant. A man of faith.

  Jack McDevitt

  Believe, Men, Long

  Jack McDevitt (2003). “Chindi”, p.225, Penguin

  4 Copy quote

• Throughout our long and sorry history it has been men who supposed themselves to be exemplars of integrity who have done all the damage. Every crusade, whether for decent literary standards or to cover women's bodies or to free the holy land, had been launched, endorsed, and enthusiastically perpetrated by men of character.

  Jack McDevitt

  Sorry, Integrity, Character

  "Deepsix". Book by Jack McDevitt, 2001.

  4 Copy quote

• The cultures we can look at had already grasped the essential unity of nature. No board of gods can survive that knowledge.

  Jack McDevitt

  Unity, Essentials, Boards

  Jack McDevitt (1995). “The Engines of God”, p.99, Penguin

  4 Copy quote

• We could never know who we truly were until we heard the whispers of the stars.

  Jack McDevitt

  Stars, Heard, Knows

  5 Copy quote

• Show me what a people admire, and I will tell you everything about them that matters.

  Jack McDevitt

  People, Matter, Admire

  "The Engines of God". Book by Jack McDevitt, 1994.

  4 Copy quote

• It can provide horrendous weapons to idiots.

  Jack McDevitt

  Weapons, Idiot

  Jack McDevitt (2007). “Cauldron”, p.241, Penguin

  4 Copy quote

• Truth, beaten down, may well rise again. But there's a reason it gets beaten down. Usually, we don't like it very much.

  Jack McDevitt

  May, Reason, Wells

  "Odyssey (Academy, Book 5)". Book by Jack McDevitt, September 2006.

  4 Copy quote

• Tides are like politics. They come and go with a great deal of fuss and noise, but inevitably they leave the beach just as they found it. On those few occasions when major change does occur, it is rarely a good news.

  Jack McDevitt

  Beach, Doe, News

  "Deepsix". Book by Jack McDevitt, September 2000.

  4 Copy quote

• The queen of virtues is the recognition of one's own flaws.

  Jack McDevitt

  Queens, Recognition, Flaws

  Jack McDevitt (2004). “Omega”, p.255, Penguin

  4 Copy quote

• Somewhere we taught ourselves that our opinions are more significant than the facts. And somehow we get our egos and our opinions and Truth all mixed up in a single package, so that when something does challenge one of the notions to which we subscribe, we react as if it challenges us.

  Jack McDevitt

  Ego, Challenges, Doe

  "Omega". Chapter 41. Book by Jack McDevitt, 2003.

  4 Copy quote

• Of course, they (i. e., demons) had always been observed with some regularity, but that could usually be ascribed to an overabundance of piety or wine or imagination. Take your pick.

  Jack McDevitt

  Wine, Imagination, Demon

  "Omega". Book by Jack McDevitt, 2003.

  4 Copy quote

• When things go wrong, the standard management strategy is to decide who takes the blame. This should be an underling, as far down the chain as possible, but preferably with some visibility so people know management means business.

  Jack McDevitt

  Mean, People, Visibility

  Jack McDevitt (2013). “Odyssey (Academy - Book 5): Academy -”, p.84, Hachette UK

  4 Copy quote

• The uplifters are forever running around telling blockheads they would do better if they would believe in themselves. But they already do. That is why they are blockheads.

  Jack McDevitt

  Running, Believe, Forever

  "Odyssey". Book by Jack McDevitt, 2006.

  16 Copy quote

• There is no justice. There are occasional acts of vengeance, or regret, but there's no real justice. In the natural scheme of things, it is not possible.

  Jack McDevitt

  Regret, Real, Justice

  Jack McDevitt (2013). “Odyssey (Academy - Book 5): Academy -”, p.410, Hachette UK

  4 Copy quote

• If you want data to survive, carve it in rock.

  Jack McDevitt

  Rocks, Data, Want

  Jack McDevitt (2013). “Cauldron (Academy - Book 6): Academy -”, p.268, Hachette UK

  4 Copy quote

• Sometimes the cost of integrity is the loss of a friend.

  Jack McDevitt

  Integrity, Loss, Cost

  "Odyssey". Book by Jack McDevitt, 2006.

  4 Copy quote

• So long as men and women are free, no one is safe. People will be in danger because others can't operate vehicles responsibly or shoot straight. Because physicians are sometimes incompetent and lawyers dishonest. But most of all they will be in danger from ideas. It is the price we willingly pay to be free. Nor would we have it any other way.

  Jack McDevitt

  Men, Ideas, Long

  4 Copy quote

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