John Scalzi quotes - page 2

Obviously, the Rraey have some way to predict, with a high degree of accuracy, where our ships are going to skip. How do they do that?” "I don't think you're supposed to be able to,” I said. "That's exactly right. But they do anyway. So, quite obviously, our model of how skipping works is wrong. Theory gets thrown out the window when observation proves it isn't so. The question now is what is really going on. (John Scalzi)
I don't care whether I really exist or don't, whether I'm real or fictional. What I want right now is to be the person who decides my own fate. View quote
John Scalzi
No, it's not fair. You're in the wrong universe for fair. View quote
John Scalzi
Part of what makes us human is what we mean to other people, and what people mean to us. View quote
John Scalzi
When you're a teenager and you're in love, it's obvious to everyone but you and the person you're in love with. View quote
John Scalzi
If the universe is bigger and stranger than I can imagine, it's best to meet it with an empty bladder. View quote
John Scalzi
As a reader, I have a very short attention span and a low tolerance for boredom, and I find that comes in handy with my writing. If I get bored writing something, I pity the people who will then try to read it. View quote
John Scalzi
If your social consciousness seems stuck in 1975, 2014 is gonna be a rough ride. View quote
John Scalzi
My marriage had its ups and downs like anyone's, but when it came down to it, I knew it was solid. I miss that sort of security, and that sort of connection with someone. View quote
John Scalzi
"Every creature has fear,” Jared said. "Even the non-conscious ones.” "No,” Boutin said. "Every creature has a survival instinct. It looks like fear but it's not the same thing. Fear isn't the desire to avoid death or pain. Fear is rooted in the knowledge that what you recognize as yourself can cease to exist. Fear is existential. View quote
John Scalzi
That's physicists for you. Not exactly brimming over with poetry. (John Scalzi)
You don't win by getting through all your life not having done anything. View quote
John Scalzi
"You and I don't actually need to be here for this,” I said to the goat. The goat didn't respond, but I could tell she agreed with me. View quote
John Scalzi
"I don't know,” Davidson said. "Maybe it's not about politics. Maybe these guys are just assholes.” "Seems the simplest explanation,” I said. View quote
John Scalzi
The failure mode of clever is "asshole.”. View quote
John Scalzi
I don't appreciate the suggestion that I'm acting irrationally,” he said. "Then don't act irrationally,” Jane said, "because there will be consequences. View quote
John Scalzi
When you're a kid, a rural, agriculturally-based colony town is a lot of fun to grow up in. It's life on a farm, with goats and chickens and fields of wheat and sorghum, harvest celebrations and winter festivals. There's not an eight- or nine-year-old kid who's been invented who doesn't find all of that unspeakably fun. But then you become a teenager and you start thinking about everything you might possibly want to do with your life, and you look at the options available to you. And then all farms, goats and chickens-and all the same people you've known all your life and will know all your life-begin to look a little less than optimal for a total life experience. It's all the same, of course. That's the point. It's you who's changed. View quote
John Scalzi
The recruit was Sam McCain; in one of our lunch sessions I recalled Sarah O'Connell describing him as more mouth than brain. Unsurprisingly, he'd been in sales most of his life. View quote
John Scalzi
Those people you saw-the realborn-are born without a plan. They're born because biology tells humans to make more humans; but it doesn't consider what to do with them after that. Realborn go for years without the slightest clue what they're going to do with themselves. From what I understand, some of them never actually figure it out. They just walk through life in a daze and then fall into their graves at the end of it. Sad. And inefficient. View quote
John Scalzi
I guess I was just hoping there might be a way to do things other than the way that ends up with everyone getting killed. View quote
John Scalzi
Look,” I said. "Something that needs your attention. Over there. Away from here. (John Scalzi)
The problem with aging is not that it's one damn thing after another-it's every damn thing, all at once, all the time. You can't stop aging. Gene therapies and replacement organs and plastic surgery give it a good fight. But it catches up with you anyway. Get a new lung, and your heart blows a valve. Get a new heart, and your liver swells up to the size of an inflatable kiddie pool. Change out your liver, a stroke gives you a whack. That's aging's trump card; they still can't replace brains. View quote
John Scalzi
I failed angst in high school. They let me graduate anyway. View quote
John Scalzi
Damn real live people, getting in the way of peaceful ideals. View quote
John Scalzi
We've already established whoever is writing us is an asshole. View quote
John Scalzi