WIST Quotations

Oppenheimer, J. Robert -- “In the matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer,” testimony transcript, US Atomic Energy Commission, Personnel Security Board (1954-04-13)

Dave — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 22:37:35 +0000

However, it is my judgment in these things that when you see something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it and you argue about what to do about it only after you have had your technical success. That is the way it was with the atomic bomb.

J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967) American theoretical physicist, "Father of the Atomic Bomb" [Julius Robert Oppenheimer]
“In the matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer,” testimony transcript, US Atomic Energy Commission, Personnel Security Board (1954-04-13)
(Source)

Jerome, Jerome K. -- “Clocks,” Diary of a Pilgrimage, and Six Other Essays (1891)

Dave — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 16:59:34 +0000

There are two kinds of clocks. There is the clock that is always wrong, and that knows it is wrong, and glories in it; and there is the clock that is always right — except when you rely upon it, and then it is more wrong than you would think a clock could be in a civilized country.

Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) English writer, humorist [Jerome Klapka Jerome]
“Clocks,” Diary of a Pilgrimage, and Six Other Essays (1891)
(Source)

Adams, Douglas -- The Salmon of Doubt, Part 2 “The Universe” (2002) [ed. Peter Guzzardi]

Dave — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 01:18:39 +0000

I’ve come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies:

Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.
Anything that’s invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.
Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is against the natural order of things.

Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
The Salmon of Doubt, Part 2 “The Universe” (2002) [ed. Peter Guzzardi]
(Source)

Dyson, Freeman -- “Progress in Religion,” Templeton Prize acceptance speech, Washington National Cathedral (9 May 2000)

Dave — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 18:06:43 +0000

The great question for our time is, how to make sure that the continuing scientific revolution brings benefits to everybody rather than widening the gap between rich and poor. To lift up poor countries, and poor people in rich countries, from poverty, to give them a chance of a decent life, technology is not enough. Technology must be guided and driven by ethics if it is to do more than provide new toys for the rich.

Freeman Dyson (1923-2020) English-American theoretical physicist, mathematician, futurist
“Progress in Religion,” Templeton Prize acceptance speech, Washington National Cathedral (9 May 2000)
(Source)

Von Clausewitz, Karl -- On War [Vom Kriege], Book 1, ch. 1 “What Is War? [Was ist der Krieg?],” § 3 (1.1.3) (1832) [tr. Howard & Paret (1976)]

Dave — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 17:17:20 +0000

The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing practical to alter or deflect the impulse to destroy the enemy, which is central to the very idea of war.

[Die Erfindung des Pulvers, die immer weiter gehende Ausbildung des Feuergewehrs zeigen schon hinreichend, dase die in dem Begriff des Krieges liegende Tendenz zur Vernichtung des Gegners auch faktisch durch die zunehmende Bildung keineswegs gestört oder abgelenkt worden ist.]

Karl von Clausewitz (1780-1831) Prussian soldier, historian, military theorist
On War [Vom Kriege], Book 1, ch. 1 “What Is War? [Was ist der Krieg?],” § 3 (1.1.3) (1832) [tr. Howard & Paret (1976)]
(Source)

(Source (German)). Alternate translations:

The invention of gunpowder, the constant progress of improvements in the construction of firearms are sufficient proofs that the tendency to destroy the adversary which lies at the bottom of the conception of war, is in no way changed or modified through the progress of civilisation.
[tr. Graham (1873)]

The invention of gunpowder and the advances continually being made in the development of firearms, in themselves show clearly enough that the demand for the destruction of the enemy, inherent in the theoretical conception of war, has been in no way actually weakened or diverted by the advance of civilization
[tr. Jolles (1943)]

Dyson, Freeman -- Infinite in All Directions, Part 2, ch. 8 “Quick Is Beautiful” (1988)

Dave — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 17:02:34 +0000

The technologies which have had the most profound effects on human life are usually simple. A good example of a simple technology with profound historical consequences is hay. Nobody knows who invented hay, the idea of cutting grass in the autumn and storing it in large enough quantities to keep horses and cows alive through the winter. All we know is that the technology of hay was unknown to the Roman Empire but was known to every village of medieval Europe. Like many other crucially important technologies, hay emerged anonymously during the so-called Dark Ages. According to the Hay Theory of History, the invention of hay was the decisive event which moved the center of gravity of urban civilization from the Mediterranean basin to Northern and Western Europe. The Roman Empire did not need hay because in a Mediterranean climate the grass grows well enough in winter for animals to graze. North of the Alps, great cities dependent on horses and oxen for motive power could not exist without hay. So it was hay that allowed populations to grow and civilizations to flourish among the forests of Northern Europe. Hay moved the greatness of Rome to Paris and London, and later to Berlin and Moscow and New York.

Freeman Dyson (1923-2020) English-American theoretical physicist, mathematician, futurist
Infinite in All Directions, Part 2, ch. 8 “Quick Is Beautiful” (1988)

Based on his Gifford Lectures, Aberdeen, Scotland (Apr-Nov 1985).

Hamilton, Edith -- The Greek Way, ch. 6 (1930)

Dave — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 19:37:59 +0000

Civilization, a much abused word, stands for a high matter quite apart from telephones and electric lights. It is a matter of imponderables, of delight in the things of the mind, of love of beauty, of honor, grace, courtesy, delicate feeling.

Edith Hamilton (1867-1963) American educator, author, classicist
The Greek Way, ch. 6 (1930)
(Source)

Dyson, Freeman -- Disturbing the Universe, ch. 1 (1979)

Dave — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 17:21:59 +0000

If we had a reliable way to label our toys good and bad, it would be easy to regulate technology wisely. But we can rarely see far enough ahead to know which road leads to damnation. Whoever concerns himself with big technology, either to push it forward or to stop it, is gambling in human lives.

Freeman Dyson (1923-2020) English-American theoretical physicist, mathematician, futurist
Disturbing the Universe, ch. 1 (1979)
(Source)

Huxley, Aldous -- Ends and Means: An Inquiry Into the Nature of Ideals, ch. 1 (1937)

Dave — Fri, 03 Jun 2022 14:37:33 +0000

Technological advance is rapid. But without progress in charity, technological advance is useless. Indeed, it is worse than useless. Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards.

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) English novelist, essayist and critic
Ends and Means: An Inquiry Into the Nature of Ideals, ch. 1 (1937)
(Source)

Raskin, Jef -- The Humane Interface, 1-5 (2000)

Dave — Tue, 10 May 2022 19:23:56 +0000

Users do not care about what is inside the box, as long as the box does what they need done.

Jef Raskin (1943-2005) American computer scientist, writer
The Humane Interface, 1-5 (2000)
(Source)

Diamond, Jared -- Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, Part 4, ch. 16 (2005)

Dave — Mon, 25 Apr 2022 17:20:53 +0000

Because we are the cause of our environmental problems, we are the ones in control of them, and we can choose or not choose to stop causing them and start solving them. The future is up for grabs, lying in our own hands. We don’t need new technologies to solve our problems; while new technologies can make some contribution, for the most part we “just” need the political will to apply solutions already available.

Jared Diamond (b. 1937) American geographer, historian, ornithologist, author
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, Part 4, ch. 16 (2005)
(Source)

Orde-Lees, Thomas -- Diary, aboard HMS Endurance (1915-01-10)

Dave — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 23:12:01 +0000

I do so wish sometimes, that I could just pop home for an hour or two as easily in the flesh as in the spirit. No doubt the explorers of 2015, if there is anything left to explore, will not only carry their pocket wireless telephones fitted with wireless telescopes but will also receive their nourishment and warmth by wireless means & also their power to drive their motor sledges, but, of course, there will be an aerial daily excursion to both Poles then & it will be the bottom of the Atlantic, if not the centre of the earth, that will form the goal in those days.

Thomas Orde-Lees (1877-1948) British naval officer, arctic explorer, mountaineer, writer
Diary, aboard HMS Endurance (1915-01-10)

Written while the ship was trapped in the ice during Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Some versions of the quotation refer to "2012," rather than 2015.

While the reference to "pocket wireless telephones" makes this quotation suspect, Orde-Lees has extensive diary material published, and this appears to be genuine.

Keller, Helen -- “Try Democracy,” The Home Magazine, Vol. 11, # 4 (Apr 1935)

Dave — Tue, 15 Sep 2020 01:21:20 +0000

The test of a democracy is not the magnificence of buildings or the speed of automobiles or the efficiency of air transportation, but rather the care given to the welfare of all the people.

Helen Keller (1880-1968) American author and lecturer
“Try Democracy,” The Home Magazine, Vol. 11, # 4 (Apr 1935)

Stross, Charles -- The Nightmare Stacks, ch. 18 (2016)

Dave — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 00:10:22 +0000

Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.

Charles "Charlie" Stross (b. 1964) British writer
The Nightmare Stacks, ch. 18 (2016)
(Source)

A variant of Clarke's Third Law.

Stross, Charles -- The Fuller Memorandum (2010)

Dave — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 17:44:22 +0000

As the man put it: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Any sufficiently advanced alien intelligence is indistinguishable from God — the angry monotheistic sadist subtype. And the elder ones … aren’t friendly. (See? I told you I’d rather be an atheist!)

Charles "Charlie" Stross (b. 1964) British writer
The Fuller Memorandum (2010)

See Clarke. .

Stross, Charles -- The Jennifer Morgue (2006)

Dave — Wed, 04 Jan 2017 05:27:06 +0000

Computational demonology adds a new and unwelcome meaning to terms like “memory leak” and “debugger.”

Charles "Charlie" Stross (b. 1964) British writer
The Jennifer Morgue (2006)

Swerdlow, Joel -- “Information REvolution,” National Geographic (Oct 1995)

Dave — Fri, 07 Oct 2016 03:43:14 +0000

The law of unintended consequences governs all technological revolutions.

Joel L. Swerdlow (contemp.) American author, editor, researcher, educator
“Information REvolution,” National Geographic (Oct 1995)

Nicoll, James -- “Because My Tears are Delicious to You 5,” rec.arts.sf.written, Usenet (30 Jun 2014)

Dave — Mon, 28 Mar 2016 13:48:22 +0000

A common issue with SF settings is that causally disconnected civilizations nevertheless are close enough in technological development that conflict is possible, rather than it being a matter of laser cannons against a thin film of single celled organisms.

James Nicoll (b. 1961) Canadian reviewer, editor
“Because My Tears are Delicious to You 5,” rec.arts.sf.written, Usenet (30 Jun 2014)
(Source)

Nicoll, James -- “OTT: If ye break faith with us who die,” rec.arts.sf.written, Usenet (27 Apr 2006)

Dave — Mon, 14 Mar 2016 14:46:57 +0000

It demonstrated that old adage: never bring a gun to a fight where the other guy has a time-machine and tomorrow’s newspapers.

James Nicoll (b. 1961) Canadian reviewer, editor
“OTT: If ye break faith with us who die,” rec.arts.sf.written, Usenet (27 Apr 2006)
(Source)

Adams, Douglas -- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Future (2001)

Dave — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 13:52:28 +0000

It’s important to remember that the relationship between different media tends to be complementary. When new media arrive they don’t necessarily replace or eradicate previous types. Though we should perhaps observe a half second silence for the eight-track. — There that’s done. What usually happens is that older media have to shuffle about a bit to make space for the new one and its particular advantages. Radio did not kill books and television did not kill radio or movies — what television did kill was the cinema newsreel.

Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Future (2001)

King, Martin Luther -- Strength to Love, ch. 7 “The Man Who Was a Fool,” sec. 3 (1963)

Dave — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 14:08:09 +0000

The means by which we live have outdistanced the ends for which we live. Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
Strength to Love, ch. 7 “The Man Who Was a Fool,” sec. 3 (1963)
(Source)

Adams, Douglas -- The Salmon of Doubt, Part 2 “The Universe,” Aside (2002) [ed. Peter Guzzardi]

Dave — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:37:17 +0000

We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works.

Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
The Salmon of Doubt, Part 2 “The Universe,” Aside (2002) [ed. Peter Guzzardi]
(Source)

Feynman, Richard -- Rogers Commission Report into the Challenger Crash, Appendix F “Personal Observations on Reliability of Shuttle” (Jun 1986)

Dave — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 12:02:15 +0000

For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.

Richard Feynman (1918-1988) American physicist
Rogers Commission Report into the Challenger Crash, Appendix F “Personal Observations on Reliability of Shuttle” (Jun 1986)

Full report

Watterson, Bill -- Calvin and Hobbes (1989-12-30)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

HOBBES: A new decade is coming up.

CALVIN: Yeah, big deal! Hmph. Where are the flying cars? Where are the Moon colonies? Where are the personal robots and the zero gravity boots, huh? You call this a new decade?! You call this the future?? Ha! Where are the rocket packs? Where are the disintegration rays? Where are the floating cities?

HOBBES: Frankly, I’m not sure people have the brains to manage the technology they’ve got.

CALVIN: I mean, look at this! We still have the weather?! Give me a break!

Bill Watterson (b. 1958) American cartoonist
Calvin and Hobbes (1989-12-30)
(Source)

Cringely, Robert X. -- “Notes from the Field,” InfoWorld (6 Mar 1989)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get a million miles per gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside.

Robert X. Cringely (contemp.) American technology columnist [pseud. for Mark Stephens and others]
“Notes from the Field,” InfoWorld (6 Mar 1989)

Twain, Mark -- Letter to the Editor of the New York World (23 Dec 1890)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

It is my heart-warm and world-embracing Christmas hope and aspiration that all of us — the high, the low, the rich, the poor, the admired, the despised, the loved, the hated, the civilized, the savage — may eventually be gathered together in a heaven of everlasting rest and peace and bliss — except the inventor of the telephone.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Letter to the Editor of the New York World (23 Dec 1890)
(Source)

Pratchett, Terry -- Post, alt.fan.pratchett

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000

The way of the portable computer user is as a stony path strewn with plugs and sockets, all the wrong size.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Post, alt.fan.pratchett
(Source)

Clarke, Arthur C. -- Profiles of the Future, “Hazards of Prophecy: The Failure of Imagination” (Clarke’s Third Law) (1962; rev. 1973)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008) British writer
Profiles of the Future, “Hazards of Prophecy: The Failure of Imagination” (Clarke’s Third Law) (1962; rev. 1973)