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Jack McDevitt Quotes

born 1935 United States

Jack McDevitt (born April 14, 1935) is an American science fiction author.

United States
Novelists
Short story writers

Random Jack McDevitt quote

118 quotes

It had been his experience that the worst cynics all started out as idealists.

Odyssey (2006)

Emily had not been trained as a scientist, so she tended to draw conclusions based on emotional need rather than on evidence.

Infinity Beach (2000)

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.

Odyssey (2006)

It is not faith per se that creates the problem; it is conviction, the notion that one cannot be wrong, that opposing views are necessarily invalid and may even be intolerable.

Odyssey (2006)

MacAllister commented recently that Plato was right, that democracy is mob rule, that the voters can be counted on consistently to find the candidate with the fewest scruples and put him in office.

Odyssey (2006)

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

Time Travelers Never Die (2009)

We’re talking about something we all want very much to find. And that automatically makes Ed’s conclusions suspect.

The Hercules Text (1986)

Secrecy is a compulsive reflex in this country. It strangles thought, delays scientific progress, and destroys integrity.

The Hercules Text (1986)

The man was either foolish or fearless. Assuming there was a difference.

Chindi (2002)

“One should always be skeptical. That’s always been our problem. We have too many believers.”
“Believers in what?”
“In everything.”

Chindi (2002)

Gambini was addicted to asking the sort of ultimate questions about which one could speculate endlessly with no fear of ever arriving at a solution.

The Hercules Text (1986)

Ah, Lord, if I doubt You, it is perhaps because You hide Yourself so well.

The Hercules Text (1986)

He’d grown a mustache since Randall had last seen him. It was hard to understand why: He looked devious enough without it.

The Hercules Text (1986)

In the larger scale of things, his opinions didn’t count anyhow. The politicians made the decisions, and the voters paid no attention.

Odyssey (2006)

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

Chindi (2002)

The reality is, we don’t want our kids to be smart. We want them to be like us. Only more so.

Odyssey (2006)

The idiots always rose to the top and made policy.
It explained a lot of things.

Odyssey (2006)

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

Chindi (2002)

Technological civilizations don’t last long. You're all right until you get a printing press. Then a race starts between technology and common sense. And maybe technology always wins.

Cauldron (2007)

As a rule, Evelyn disapproved of politicians. They tended to break down into two categories: the completely unprincipled, who comprised the vast majority; and those who lived by their principles no matter who suffered.

Moonfall (1998)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Jack McDevitt (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.