It's the Platonic philosophy in The Republic that philosophers should lead the country.
Alan LightmanIn fiction writing, I would say there are several different strands that have been woven through my own writing, and each influenced by a different group of writers.
Alan LightmanIn this world, there are two times. There is mechanical time and there is body time." "They do not keep clocks in their houses. Instead, they listen to their heartbeats. They feel the rhythms of their moods and desires." "Then there are those who think their bodies don't exist. They live by mechanical time. They rise at seven o'clock in the morning. They eat their lunch at noon and their supper at six. They arrive at their appointments on time, precisely by the clock.
Alan LightmanAll writers have roots they draw from - travel, work, family. My roots are in science and it is fertile ground for fiction.
Alan LightmanI have for a long time loved fabulist, imaginative fiction, such as the writing of Italo Calvino, Jose Saramago, Michael Bulgakov, and Salman Rushdie. I also like the magic realist writers, such as Borges and Marquez, and feel that interesting truths can be learned about our world by exploring highly distorted worlds.
Alan Lightman