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My brain, otherwise a sound instrument, has a serious defect—a hypertrophied lobe of curiosity.

— Jack Vance The Many Worlds of Magnus Ridolph (1966)

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Curiosity

More quotes by Jack Vance

Experience is the only source of wisdom: by which I mean, the competent conduct of life.

Maske: Thaery (1976)

Now, as to the persistence of superstition, only an impoverished mind considers itself the repository of absolute knowledge.

Future Tense (1964)

He used a name for himself, true, but we played at Romance, and this is a game where truth is a bagatelle.

Lyonesse Trilogy (1983)

“Everyone is the same,” he told himself. “Anxious to arrive and, when they leave, wondering why they came.”

Demon Princes (1964)

“The crime,” said the Jacynth softly, “is abstract and fundamental: the innate depravity of extinguishing life.”

To Live Forever (1956)

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The basic drive behind real philosophy is curiosity about the world, not interest in the writings of philosophers.

Bryan Magee Confessions of a Philosopher (1997)

Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect.

Samuel Johnson The Rambler (1750)

Curiosity will conquer fear even more than bravery will.

James Stephens

Things that people learn purely out of curiosity can have a revolutionary effect on human affairs.

Frederick Seitz

Attribution

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