Source: No Ordinary Genius (1994), p. 251-252, from interview in "The Pleasure of Finding Things Out" (1981): video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEwUwWh5Xs4&t=45m21s
(Also in book The Pleasure of Finding Things Out (1999) p. 23.)
Context: People say to me, "Are you looking for the ultimate laws of physics?" No, I'm not. I'm just looking to find out more about the world and if it turns out there is a simple ultimate law which explains everything, so be it; that would be very nice to discover. If it turns out it's like an onion with millions of layers and we're just sick and tired of looking at the layers, then that's the way it is!… And therefore when we go to investigate we shouldn’t pre-decide what it is we are trying to do except to find out more about it… My interest in science is to simply find out more about the world.
“We always do what’s natural, only sometimes we shouldn’t do it.”
Source: The Stars My Destination (1956), Chapter 6 (p. 98).
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Alfred Bester 18
American science fiction author 1913–1987Related quotes
Source: Just a Geek: Unflinchingly honest tales of the search for life, love, and fulfillment beyond the Starship Enterprise
“It’s not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what’s required.”
As cited in The Forbes Book of Business Quotations (2007), Ed. Goodwin, Black Dog Publishing, p. 168, ISBN 1579127215
Post-war years (1945–1955)
“It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable.”
“It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we do not do.”
“What I do know is sometimes we love the wrong people and sometimes we marry them.”
Source: Getting to Happy
“We always condemn ourselves by what we say, not by what we do.”
Nos condenamos siempre por lo que decimos, no por lo que hacemos.
Source: Todas las Almas [All Souls] (1989), p. 31