“The one thing I never counted on was having luck on my side.
It was generally simpler that way.”
Source: Chasm City (2001), Chapter 13 (p. 209).
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Alastair Reynolds198
British novelist and astronomer 1966Related quotes
Charles Bukowski (1920–1994) American writer
Variant: Genius might be the ability to say a profound thing in a simple way.
Source: Portions from a Wine-Stained Notebook: Uncollected Stories and Essays, 1944-1990
Francisco De Goya (1746–1828) Spanish painter and printmaker (1746–1828)
letter to his friend Don Martín Zapater, c. 10 December 1784; as quoted in Francisco Goya, Hugh Stokes, Herbert Jenkins Limited Publishers, London, 1914, p. 134-135
Ventura Rodriquez, chief of the architects in Madrid was building the church of San Francisco el Grande. Pictures would be required for the seven altars. Goya had chosen for his subject St. Bernardino de Siena, crucifix in hand, preaching from a rock, by the light of a star, to King Alfonso of Aragon and his courtiers. He was selected as one of the painters of the altars.
1780s
Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher and philosopher
Se, depois de eu morrer, quiserem escrever a minha biografia,
Não há nada mais simples.
Tem só duas datas—a da minha nascença e a da minha morte.
Entre uma e outra coisa todos os dias são meus.
Alberto Caeiro (heteronym), "Se, depois de eu morrer" (8 November 1915), trans. Jonathan Griffin.
Source: Poems of Fernando Pessoa
Paul Dirac (1902–1984) theoretical physicist
As quoted in Dirac: A Scientific Biography (1990), by Helge Kragh, p. 258
Source: [Kragh, Helge, Dirac: A Scientific Biography, https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=zXm1Bso1VREC&pg=PA258&lpg=PA258&dq=%22The+aim+of+science+is+to+make+difficult+things+understandable+in+a+simpler+way;+the+aim+of+poetry+is+to+state+simple+things+in+an+incomprehensible+way.+The+two+are+incompatible%22&source=bl&ots=OLeGFpZGCh&sig=VRga1I7FVl9UBpXi_oAq_-8u_ls&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjBwLbbwdvVAhXIIMAKHZ_pCZQQ6AEIOTAD#v=onepage&q=%22The%20aim%20of%20science%20is%20to%20make%20difficult%20things%20understandable%20in%20a%20simpler%20way%3B%20the%20aim%20of%20poetry%20is%20to%20state%20simple%20things%20in%20an%20incomprehensible%20way.%20The%20two%20are%20incompatible%22&f=false, March 30, 1990, 258, December 6, 2017]
George Sarton (1884–1956) American historian of science
Preface.
A History of Science Vol.1 Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece (1952)
Context: As I grew older my lectures became simpler; I tried to say fewer things and to say them better, with more humanity. This book continues in a different way the same evolution, but it is not yet as simple as I would have liked to have made it.