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We, the structures we collectively refer to as “life,” are patterns of information—temporary reversals of the arrow of entropy within our universe—and conscious minds are the most concentrated such patterns we know of.

— Charles Stross The Nightmare Stacks (2016)

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Life

More quotes by Charles Stross

Human consciousness isn’t optimized for anything, except maybe helping feral hominids survive in the wild.

Rule 34 (2011)

No plan of battle survives contact with the enemy, and time is the ultimate opponent.

Rule 34 (2011)

Never trust a man who thinks his religion gives him all the answers.

Halting State (2007)

In my experience, the best way to deal with such people is to politely agree with everything they say, then ignore them.

Glasshouse (2006)

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a sane employee in possession of his wits must be in want of a good manager.

The Fuller Memorandum (2010)

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To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.

Bertrand Russell Marriage and Morals (1929)

Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.

William James The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy (1897)

Reason is Life's sole arbiter, the magic Laby'rinth's single clue:
Worlds lie above, beyond its ken; what crosses it can ne'er be true.

Richard Francis Burton The Kasîdah of Hâjî Abdû El-Yezdî (1870)

It is the law of life that if you are kind to someone you feel happy. If you are cruel you are unhappy. And if you hurt someone, you will be hurt back.

Cary Grant Love – That’s All Cary Grant Ever Thinks About (1964)

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Charles Stross (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.