quotes on fiction & writing
"For every good idea, ten thousand idiotic ones must first be posed, sifted, sniffed, tried, and discarded. A mind that's afraid to toy with the ridiculous will never come up with the brilliantly original."
— David Brin
"Many post-holocaust novels are little-boy wish fantasies about running amok in a world without rules. In fact, such lonely 'heroes' would vanish like soot after a real apocalypse."
— David Brin
"If you believe you can make a living as a writer, you already have enough ego. Don't let too much of it prevent you from seeking the feedback you need in order to keep honing your craft."
— David Brin
"I would normally never set out to write a trilogy."
— David Brin
quotes about life and other creative acts
"A hallmark of sanity is the courage to face even unpleasant points of view."
— from Earth
"Life is not fair.... Anyone who says it is, or even that it ought to be, is a fool or worse."
— from Startide Rising
quotes for science and the scientific-minded
"To meddle in the makeup of other species, in an attempt to 'uplift' their intelligence, might be the most ethically fraught and worrisome decision humanity could make. But to refuse the chance might be the most damnably selfish one. It would say: 'we stumbled into this gift and now we refuse to share.'"
— David Brin
"But there is another reason to protect other species, seldom mentioned. Perhaps we are the first to talk and think and build and aspire, but we won't be the last. Others will follow us in this adventure. Some day we may be judged by how well we served, when we alone were Earth's caretakers."
— from The Uplift War
"There has never lived a profession more inherently competitive. Every participant dreams of being the next one to upset the apple cart. Freshly-tenured junior professors are the Young Guns, swaggering down Main Street looking to build a reputation by overturning some Nobelist's accepted model."
— David Brin
"All of the great enlightenment arenas — markets, science and democracy — flourish in direct proportion to how much their players (consumers, scientists and voters) know, in order to make good decisions. To whatever extent these arenas get clogged by secrecy, they fail."
— from The Transparent Society
"One of the worst calumnies has been to portray scientists as timid herd creatures, chasing teensy grants and chanting the consensus paradigm."
— David Brin
quotes that contend with progress & change
"It is simplistic to claim that secrecy is the root of all evil. But there is no evil that is not worsened by secrecy."
— from The Transparent Society
"The village is coming back, like it or not."
— David Brin
"Self-righteous people can talk themselves into forgetting they are a part of a civilization. Instead of negotiating, they despise the neighbors who nurture them, feeding on that culture while disdaining it."
— David Brin
"Change can't be prevented, only guided."
— from Earth
"What if this was all a fight between two factions of the government or aristocracy? Such things happened all the time, and when dragons battle each other, peasants are better off ducking out of the way."
— from Existence
"For we already live in the openness experiment, and have for two hundred years. It is called the Enlightenment — with 'light' both a core word and a key concept in our turn away from 4,000 years of feudalism."
— from The Transparent Society
"If facts are inconvenient, well then, why not damn those who live and work with facts? How's that working out?"
— David Brin
"The worst mistake of first contact, made throughout history by individuals on both sides of every encounter, has been the unfortunate habit of making assumptions. It often proved fatal."
— David Brin
"Reciprocal accountability, or criticism, is the only known antidote to error."
— David Brin
"Light is the scourge of evil."
— Earth
tongue-in-cheek quotes
"Prison for the crime of puberty — that was how secondary school seemed."
— from Earth
"We must go forth and crush every world view that doesn't believe in free speech and tolerance!"
— David Brin
"Where subtlety fails us, we simply make do with cream pies."
— The Uplift War
a brief intro to science fiction author DAVID BRIN
To learn more, visit his books page, or see his "about me" page or detailed biography.
novels
David Brin's science fiction novels have been New York Times Bestsellers, winning multiple Hugo, Nebula and other awards. At least a dozen have been translated into more than twenty languages. They range from bold and prophetic explorations of our near-future to Brin's Uplift series, envisioning galactic issues of sapience and destiny (and star-faring dolphins!). Learn More
shorter fiction
Short stories and novellas have different rhythms and artistic flavor, and Brin's short stories and novellas, several of which earned Hugo and other awards, exploit that difference to explore a wider range of real and vividly speculative ideas. Many have been selected for anthologies and reprints, and most have been published in anthology form. Learn More
Contrary Brin blog
Since 2004, David Brin has maintained a blog about science, technology, science fiction, books, and the future — themes his science fiction and nonfiction writings continue to explore. Learn More
social media influencer
Who could've predicted that social media — indeed, all of our online society — would play such an important role in the 21st Century — restoring the voices of advisors and influencers! Lively and intelligent comments spill over onto Brin's social media pages. Learn More
scientist
David Brin's Ph.D in Physics from the University of California at San Diego (the lab of nobelist Hannes Alfven) followed a masters in optics and an undergraduate degree in astrophysics from Caltech. Every science show that depicts a comet now portrays the model developed in Brin's PhD research. Learn More
transparency expert
Brin's non-fiction book, The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Freedom and Privacy?, continues to receive acclaim for its accuracy in predicting 21st Century concerns about online security, secrecy, accountability and privacy. Learn More
speaker & consultant
Brin speaks plausibly and entertainingly about trends in technology and society to audiences willing to confront the challenges that our rambunctious civilization will face in the decades ahead. He also talks about the field of science fiction, especially in relation to his own novels and stories. To date he has presented at more than 200 meetings, conferences, corporate retreats and other gatherings.Learn More
future/tech advisor
Brin advises corporations and governmental and private defense- and security-related agencies about information-age issues, scientific trends, future social and political trends, and education. Urban Developer Magazine named him one of four World's Best Futurists, and he was appraised as "#1 influencer" in Onalytica's Top 100 report of Artificial Intelligence influencers, brands & publications. Past consultations include Google, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, and many others. Learn More
