Quotes of Note: A.E. van Vogt, "Mission: Interplanetary" II

Quotes of Note from Mission: Interplanetary by A.E. van Vogt:

"You live in a universe; and within you, you form pictures of the universe as it seems to you. And of that universe, you know nothing and can know nothing except for the pictures. But the pictures within you of the universe are not the universe... ." (p. 81)

"How could you influence another's mind? By changing his assumptions. How could you alter another's actions? By changing his basic beliefs, his emotional certainties." (p. 81)

"[T]he pictures with you do not show all about the universe, for there are many things which you cannot know directly, not having senses to know. Within the universe there is an order. And if the order of the pictures within you is not the order of the universe, then you are deceived... ." (p. 81)

"In the history of life, few thinking beings had done anything illogical—within their frame of reference. If the frame was falsely based, if the assumptions were untrue to reality, then the individual's automatic logic could lead him to disastrous conclusions." (p. 81)

"[L]iving organisms can have satisfactions that do not require machines: food and drink, association with friends and loved ones." (p. 83)

"Everything must be investigated." (p. 92)

"[M]ilitary men have not properly appreciated scientists in the past." (p. 97)

"[S]cientists can find trouble where it never existed before." (p. 97)

"There is a reason why intelligent beings make mistakes... ." (p. 98)

"[L]ife proceeds upward—whatever we mean by upward—by a series of cycles." (p. 99)

"It is expected that grown men know their own minds. The whole idea of democracy is based on that supposition." (p. 115)

"In dealing with human beings, I've noticed there is usually not only a problem to be solved but the matter of tension among those who have to solve it. ... During danger, hard work. During work, relaxation in every practicable form." (p. 115)

"[T]he will to survive was built-in in the nervous system." (p. 118)

"In a crisis, a man protected himself. He couldn't help it. Like an animal, he fought blindly for his life." (p. 120)

"Only an event would change the minds of some people." (p. 121)

"It was not enough to have information and knowledge, not enough to be right. Men had to be persuaded and convinced. Sometimes that might take more time than could safely be spared." (p. 122)

"[S]cientists are constantly on the defensive about their alleged unfeeling intellectualism. So they like to have someone fronting for them who is emotional but whose scientific qualifications cannot be questioned." (p. 144)

"It's not their devotion to the scientific method that defeats the technologists. It's their integrity. The average trained man often understands the tactics that are used against him better than the person who uses them, but he cannot bring himself to retaliate in kind without feeling tarnished." (p. 144)

"[P]eople who are wrapped up in pleasure, excitement, or ambition are easily controlled." (p. 164)

"We must make men skeptical." (p. 164)

"On every level of understanding, the skeptic partly makes up for his lack of specific knowledge by his attitude of 'Show me! I've got an open mind, but what you say cannot by itself convince me.'" (p. 164)

"You can't expect to condition the whole human race." (p. 167)

"People think a thing ethical or unethical depending on the associations that come to their minds at the moment, or while they're considering the problem in retrospect." (pp. 168-169)

"[O]ur ethical measuring rod should be that which benefits the greatest number, provided that it doesn't include extermination or torture of, or denial of rights to, individuals who do not conform." (p. 169)

"When I firmly believe ... that any actions are justified, there is no internal nervous or emotional problem." (p. 169)

"Man has divided life and matter into separate compartments of knowledge and being. And, even though he sometimes uses words which indicate his awareness of that wholeness of nature, he continues to behave as if the one, changing universe has many separately functioning parts." (p. 174-175)