There is no merit to discipline under ideal circumstances. I must have it in the face of death or it is worthless.

And [Asimov]'ll sign anything, hardbacks, softbacks, other people's books, scraps of paper. Inevitably someone handed him a blank check on the occasion when I was there, and he signed that without as much as a waver to his smile — except that he signed: 'Harlan Ellison.

There is no belief, however foolish, that will not gather its faithful adherents who will defend it to the death.

To succeed, planning alone is insufficient. One must improvise as well.

It has been my philosophy of life that difficulties vanish when faced boldly.

The laws of history are as absolute as the laws of physics, and if the probabilities of error are greater, it is only because history does not deal with as many humans as physics does atoms, so that individual variations count for more.

Scientists derive satisfaction from figuring out the puzzle. It's about the quest, not the grail.