The Greatest Science Fiction Quotes of all Time

[kennyc]

(one is probably already in trouble by claiming 'the greatest of all time' but)

"Insanity is relative. It depends on who has who locked in what cage."
- Ray Bradbury

"..science fiction is something that could happen - but usually you wouldn't want it to. Fantasy is something that couldn't happen - though often you only wish that it could."
- Arthur C. Clarke

"If you think this Universe is bad, you should see some of the others."
- Philip K. Dick

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
- Robert A. Heinlein (Time Enough for Love)



Many More:
http://www.outerplaces.com/science-f...iction-writers

[frahse]

from the Fifth Element:

Mondoshawan: "Time not important. Only life important."

[cadele]

From the Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai across the 8th Dimension:

"Remember; no matter where you go, there you are."

[astrangerhere]

Well, I am not sure about "of all time," but I do have some good ones"

The universe is a pretty big place. If it's just us, seems like an awful waste of space.

Carl Sagan | Contact

There is always more after the ending. Always the next morning, and the next. Always changes, losses and gains. Always one step after the other. Until the one true ending that none of us can escape. But even that ending is only a small one, larges as it looms for us. There is still the next morning for everyone else. For the vast majority of the rest of the universe that ending might as well not ever have happened. Every ending is an arbitrary one. Everything ending is from another angle, not really an ending.

Ann Leckie | Ancillary Mercy

[ebusinesstutor]

"I am not defeated I am merely detained on the way to victory."
- Elizabeth Moon, "Rules of Engagement."

"Live long and prosper." - Spock (Star Trek)

“Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try.” – Yoda (Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back)

We are dreamers, shapers, singers, and makers. - Babylon 5

"Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying." - Arthur C Clarke

"I don't believe in astrology; I'm a Sagittarius and we're skeptical." - Arthur C Clarke

*"If you think this Universe is bad, you should see some of the others." Philip K. Dick

[rkomar]

Originally Posted by ebusinesstutor

“Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try.” – Yoda (Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back)

That is _so_ tempting to believe. If only things were so simple. Still, it's a great quote.

[BenG]

Every impossible rule has its loopholes; every general prohibition creates its bootleggers.
—Robert A. Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by BenG

Every impossible rule has its loopholes; every general prohibition creates its bootleggers.
—Robert A. Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

Love those "Notebooks of Lazarus Long!"

[BenG]

To oppose something is to maintain it.
—Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness

[frahse]

WishMaster:

"Fear one thing in all there is... FEAR THE DJINN."

[AlbertaCowboy]

"Anyone who clings to the historically untrue and thoroughly immoral doctrine that violence never settles anything I would advise to conjure up the ghosts of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington and let them debate it. The ghost of Hitler could referee and the jury might well be the Dodo, the Great Auk, and the Passenger Pigeon. Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst. Breeds that forget this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and their freedoms."

-Robert A. Heinlein "Starship Troopers"

[BenG]

People don’t die from the old diseases any more. They die from new ones, but
that’s Progress, isn’t it?
Isn’t it?
—Harlan Ellison, Jeffty Is Five

[drofgnal]

One of my favorites from a movie, "War Games"

General Barringer:

'I'd P!ss on a spark plug if I thought it'd do any good.'

[din155]

Originally Posted by drofgnal

One of my favorites from a movie, "War Games"

General Barringer:

'I'd P!ss on a spark plug if I thought it'd do any good.'

it could get a new general.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by rkomar

That is _so_ tempting to believe. If only things were so simple. Still, it's a great quote.

You don't believe it?
"That is why you fail."
--same character, same movie.

Seriously, what's not to believe? It's not a promise you'll always succeed, it's a statement that you need to have the right attitude, and that self doubt makes you less effective.
Be fully committed and do your best.
But remember, even Yoda had backup plans. It's not like he thought "do" would always work, just that a half-hearted "try" will often fail.