Where Subtlety Fails Us We Must Simply

Self-awareness Is Probably Overrated. A Complex, Self-regulating System Doesn't Need It In Order To Be Successful, Or Even Smart.

Predicting Has A Spotty Record In Science Fiction. I've Had Some Failures. On The Other Hand, I Also Predicted The Fall Of The Berlin Wall And The Rise Of Fundamentalist Islam... And I'm Not Happy To Be Right In All Of Those Cases

It's How Creativity Works. Especially In Humans. For Every Good Idea, Ten Thousand Idiotic Ones Must First Be Posed, Sifted, Tried Out, And Discarded. A Mind That's Afraid To Toy With The Ridiculous Will Never Come Up With The Brilliantly Original.

The Worst Mistake Of First Contact, Made Throughout History By Individuals On Both Sides Of Every New Encounter, Has Been The Unfortunate Habit Of Making Assumptions. It Often Proved Fatal.

Every Marvel Of Our Age Arose Out Of The Critical Give And Take Of An Open Society. No Other Civilization Ever Managed To Incorporate This Crucial Innovation, Weaving It Into Daily Life. And If You Disagree With This... Say So!