#ali

Not all the magic of earth is benevolent. ↗

— Alden Bell

#hopeful #reality #science-fiction #zombies #science

I was worried about sex," he went on. "But you know what, Sulie? It's like being told I can't have any caviar for the next couple years. I don't even like caviar. And when you come right down to it, I don't want sex right now. I supposed you punched that into the computer? 'Cut down sex drive, increase euphoria'? Anyway, it finally penetrated my little brain that I was just making trouble for myself, worrying about whether I could get along without something I really didn't want. It's a reflection of what I think other people think I should want. ↗

— Frederik Pohl

#science-fiction #sex #science

Socialism is not a science, a sociology in miniature: it is a cry of pain. ↗

— Émile Durkheim

#science

When I tell people I'm planning on majoring in psychology, I usually get one of three responses: A) Oh! Are you analyzing me right now? B) Psychology . . . hardly an exact science, is it? or C) So what's wrong with you? ↗

— Alicia Thompson

#psych-major-syndrome #science

The kid is scary. ↗

— Orson Scott Card

#kids #science-fiction #space #science

In Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis argues that human beings cannot be truly good or moral without faith in God and without submis- sion to the will of Christ. Unfortunately, Lewis does not provide any actual data for his assertions. They are nothing more than the mild musings of a wealthy British man, pondering the state of humanity’s soul between his sips of tea. Had Lewis actually famil- iarized himself with real human beings of the secular sort, per- haps sat and talked with them, he would have had to reconsider this notion. As so many apostates explained to me, morality is most certainly possible beyond the confines of faith. Can people be good without God? Can a moral orientation be sustained and developed outside of a religious context? The answer to both of these questions is a resounding yes. ↗

— Phil Zuckerman

#atheism #ethics #morality #morals #religion

We make versions, and true versions make worlds. ↗

— Nelson Goodman

#philosophy #philosophy-of-science #pragmatism #science

And like a good neighbor, Alpha Centauri is there.” Touched by an Alien ↗

— Gini Koch

#humor #science-fiction #touched-by-an-alien #science

Jessamine recoiled from the paper as if it were a snake. "A lady does not read the newspaper. The society pages, perhaps, or the theater news. Not this filth." "But you are not a lady, Jessamine---," Charlotte began. "Dear me," said Will. "Such harsh truths so early in the morning cannot be good for the digestion. ↗

— Cassandra Clare

#jessamine-lovelace #journalism #newspapers #will-herondale #society

What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or in the holy name of liberty or democracy? ↗

— Mahatma Gandhi

#fascism #liberty #loss #politics #society