Neal Stephenson citáty

strana 6

„My se ve světě protloukáme, protože víme, že dvě plus dvě jsou čtyři, a držíme se toho tak usilovně, až je to kapku hloupý a občas se to může dotknout něčích citů. Je mi to líto.“
„Čích citů jako? Lidí, co si myslí, že dvě plus dvě je pět?“
„Lidí, pro který je důležitější společenský chování než to, aby každá věta vyslovená během rozhovoru byla doslovně pravdivá.“
„Jako, kupříkladu… žen?“
Randy asi míli skřípe zuby a pak řekne: „Pokud vůbec existuje nějaký zevšeobecnění toho, jak uvažujou muži versus ženy, tak podle mě je to v tom, že muži se dokážou soustředit jako laserovej paprsek na neuvěřitelně mrňavou maličkost a nemyslet na nic jinýho.“
„Kdežto ženy to nedokážou?“
„Předpokládám, že dokážou. Ale zřejmě málokdy chtějí.“

„Jedna z nejděsivějších věcí na skutečným inťoušovi pro většinu lidí není to, že se neumí chovat – protože to zažili všichni – ale spíš že se kvůli tomu vůbec necítí hloupě.“

„Hmyz v džungli vás považuje za velké kusy živého, avšak nepříliš dobře hájeného jídla. Schopnost pohybu není ani tak odstrašující prostředek, spíš slouží jako nezfalšovatelná záruka čerstvosti.“

“As it turned out, imagining the fate of seven billion people was far less emotionally affecting than imagining the fate of one.”

“If history was any guide, those best at violence might end up ruling over everyone else.”

“I have been clinically depressed for most of my life. I once used drugs to fix it. Then I stopped. I stopped because I decided they were making me stupid, and I’d rather be miserable than stupid. I am what I am.”

“There is a process known as parthenogenesis, literally virgin birth, by which a uniparental embryo can be created out of a normal egg. It’s been done with animals. The only reason no one ever did it with humans is because it seemed ethically dodgy, as well as completely unnecessary given the willingness of men to impregnate women every chance they got.”

“We can’t make the same mistake again,” Aïda said, “of fooling ourselves. Believing in shit that isn’t real.”

“We can’t run this experiment a thousand times to see the range of different outcomes. We can only run it once. The human mind has trouble with situations like that. We see patterns where they don’t exist, we find meaning in randomness.”

“We did not expect to have a backup system for the rest of the universe. We can rely upon it to be cold most of the time.”

“Hotness was a part of the human condition and it was pointless to pretend that it did not exist.”

“People who claim they are motivated by the Purpose end up behaving differently—and generally better—than people who serve other masters.”
“So it is like believing in God.”

“I hope that this assignment will not prove an inconvenience,” Doc continued.
“All duty is inconvenient to a greater or lesser degree, or it would not be duty.”

“Trying to, you know, persuade others to join our side. Trying to make the other side look bad. Just like the Internet always was.”

“You could get use to anything. You got used to it and then time raced by, and before you knew it, time was up.”

“Sportsmanship is for sportsmen.”

“Reader, if you don’t know what a database is, rest assured that an explanation of the concept would in no way increase your enjoyment in reading this account. If you do know, you will thank me for sparing you the details.”

“You can't get most people to believe how wildly the eco-laws get broken, but if I say "More than twice the legal limit," they get comfortably outraged.”

“My nighttime attitude is, anyone can run you down and get away with it. Why give some drunk the chance to plaster me against a car? That's why I don't even own a bike light, or one of those godawful reflective suits. Because if you've put yourself in a position where someone has to see you in order for you to be safe — to see you, and to give a fuck — you've already blown it.”