Quotes from I, Robot

“It is the obvious which is so difficult to see most of the time. People say 'It's as plain as the nose on your face.' But how much of the nose on your face can you see, unless someone holds a mirror up to you?”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“The Three Laws of Robotics:

1: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm;

2: A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law;

3: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law;

The Zeroth Law: A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“You can prove anything you want by coldly logical reason---if you pick the proper postulates.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“Fifty years," I hackneyed, "is a long time."
"Not when you're looking back at them," she said. "You wonder how they vanished so quickly.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“Every period of human development has had its own particular type of human conflict---its own variety of problem that, apparently, could be settled only by force. And each time, frustratingly enough, force never really settled the problem. Instead, it persisted through a series of conflicts, then vanished of itself---what's the expression---ah, yes, 'not with a bang, but a whimper,' as the economic and social environment changed. And then, new problems, and a new series of wars.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“It's your fiction that interests me. Your studies of the interplay of human motives and emotion.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“Postulates are based on assumption and adhered to by faith. Nothing in the Universe can shake them.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“... you just can't differentiate between a robot and the very best of humans.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“All normal life, Peter, consciously or otherwise, resent domination. If the domination is by an inferior, or by a supposed inferior, the resentment becomes stronger.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“There is nothing so eternally adhesive as the memory of power.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“You are the only one responsible for your own wants.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“I, on the other hand, am a finished product. I absorb electrical energy directly and utilize it with an almost one hundred percent efficiency. I am composed of strong metal, am continuously conscious, and can stand extremes of environment easily. These are facts which, with the self-evident proposition that no being can create another being superior to itself, smashes your silly hypothesis to nothing.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“The Master created humans first as the lowest type, most easily formed. Gradually, he replaced them by robots, the next higher step, and finally he created me, to take the place of the last humans.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“There is no Master but the Master,” he said, “and QT-1 is his prophet.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“They recognize the Master, now that I have preached Truth to them. All the robots do.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“It is always useful, you see, to subject the past life of reform politicians to rather inquisitive research.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“People say 'It's as plain as the noise on your face.' But how much of the nose on your face can you see, unless someone hold a mirror up to you?”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“You’ll have such proof as exists. You are the only one responsible for your own wants.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“These are facts which, with the self-evident proposition that no being can create another being superior to itself, smashes your silly hypothesis to nothing.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“Oh, hell! I can’t sleep!” “Neither can I! But I might as well try—as a matter of principle.”   Twelve hours later, sleep was still just that—a matter of principle, unattainable in practice.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“First of Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics:
A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“And his idea of solid comfort was to be left in utter solitude for two or three hours.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“Cada período del desarrollo humano, Susan, tiene su tipo particular de conflicto, sus problemas distintos que, aparentemente sólo pueden resolverse por la fuerza. Y jamás, por decepcionante que esto sea, la fuerza resuelve el problema. En su lugar, éste persiste a través de una serie de conflictos y se desvanece por sí solo... ¿cómo dice la frase?, no con un estallido, sino con su susurro, a medida que el ambiente económico y social cambia. Y entonces, nuevo problema y nueva serie de guerras. Un ciclo, al parecer, sin fin.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“The first step in cooking rabbit stew is catching the rabbit.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“Isaac Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics"

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“-La humanidad ha perdido todo control sobre su futuro
-No lo ha tenido jamás, en realidad.Estuvo siempre a merced de unas fuerzas económicas y sociológicas que no entendía, de los caprichos del clima y de los azares de la guerra.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“The unwritten motto of United States Robot and Mechanical Men Corp. was well-known: “No employee makes the same mistake twice. He is fired the first time.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“George Weston, after all was only a man—poor thing—and his wife made full use of every device which a clumsier and more scrupulous sex has learned, with reason and futility, to fear.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“Al parecer, cree más en la curación que en el castigo de los criminales. Considero esto muy significativo.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

“The real point of the matter is that what we call a ‘wrong datum’ is one which is inconsistent with all other known data. It is our only criterion of right and wrong.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from I, Robot

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Popular quotes

“Choosing between dull and dishonest is like being asked whether you want to be shot or stabbed. “What”
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“I’ll go first, then you follow me, Alex, exactly where I step. Bear will come behind you,” Jordan said. “And remember, only one person on a square at a time.”

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“Pokrovski cerea mereu ceva, cerea stăruitor, vorbind împleticit, cu limba încătuşată de moarte, iar eu nu pricepeam nimic din vorbele lui. Inima mi se frîngea de durere! Un ceas întreg s-a zbătut aşa, chinuit de o dorinţă; se trudea să facă un semn cu mîinile-i răcite şi iar începea să ceară jalnic, cu glasul răguşit şi surd... Dar vorbele lui nu erau altceva decît un şir de bîiguieli fără nici un înţeles, şi iar nu pricepeam nimic. Rînd pe rînd, îi aduceam lîngă pat pe fiecare dintre cei ai casei, îi dădeam apă, dar el clătina trist din cap. în cele din urmă, am înţeles ce voia: mă ruga să ridic storul de la fereastră şi să deschid obloanele. Voia — pesemne — să se mai uite o dată la lumina zilei, la soare. Am tras storul; dar ziua care abia începea era tristă şi mohorîtă ca şi viaţa nefericită a celui de pe patul de moarte, gata să se stingă. Nici pomeneală de soare! Cerul era acoperit de pîcla deasă a norilor, un cer ploios, mohorît, rece. O ploaie măruntă bătea în fereastră şi se prelingea pe geam în şiroaie reci şi murdare. O zi cenuşie, întunecată. Lumina ei slabă abia pătrundea în odaie, luptînd din greu cu flacăra tremurătoare a candelei din faţa icoanei. Muribundul îmi aruncă o privire plină de o nespusă tristeţe şi clătină din cap. Peste o clipă îşi dădu sufletul. Anna Feodorovna a luat asupră-şi grijile înmormîntării. I-a cumpărat lui Pokrovski coşciugul cel mai de rînd şi a tocmit un cărăuş ca să-l ducă. Dar ca să nu rămînă cumva păgubită de cheltuieîde pe care le făcea, a pus mîna pe toate cărţile şi pe toate lucrurile răposatului. Bătrînul a făcut gură, s-a certat cu ea şi la urmă i-a smuls un teanc de cărţi, pe care le-a vîrît în buzunare, în pălărie, pe unde a putut, şi nu s-a despărţit de ele în toate cele trei zile dinaintea înmormîntării, şi chiar şi atunci cînd a trebuit să se ducă la biserică; în tot acest timp, s-a purtat ca un ieşit din minţi, învîrtindu-se mereu, cu o grijă duioasă, pe lîngă sicriu: ba îndrepta cununiţa cu rugăciunea de dezlegare a mortului, ba aprindea cîte o luminare sau schimba alta. Se vedea cît de colo că nu-şi poate opri gîndul asupra niciunui lucru. Nici măicuţa şi nici Anna Feodorovna n-au fost în biserică la prohod. Măicuţa era bolnavă, iar Anna Feodorovna se pregătise să meargă, dar în ultima clipă s-a certat cu bătrînul Pokrovski şi a rămas acasă. Nu ne-am dus decît bătrînul şi cu mine. In timpul slujbei, m-a cuprins dintr-odată o teamă ciudată, un fel de presimţire a viitorului. Abia de am putut rămîne pînă la urmă în biserică, în sfîrşit, coşciugul a fost închis, bătut în cuie, apoi l-au pus în căruţă şi l-au dus. L-am petrecut numai pînă la capătul străzii. Căruţaşul a pornit-o la trap. Bătrînul s-a luat în fugă după el, plîngînd cu hohote. Plînsul lui tremura şi se frîngea din pricina alergăturii. Sărmanul şi-a pierdut şi pălăria, dar nu s-a oprit ca să şi-o ridice. Ploaia îi uda capul, se stîrnise vîntul, măzărichea rece îi biciuia şi-i înţepa obrazul. Dar bătrînul părea să nu simtă nimic şi alerga cînd de o parte, cînd de alta a căruţei, plîngînd într-una. Poalele hainei lui vechi fîlfîiau în bătaia vîntului ca nişte aripi. Din toate buzunarele îi ieşeau colţuri de cărţi. In mîini avea iarăşi o carte mare, pe care o strîngea cu putere. Trecătorii se descopereau şi-şi făceau cruce. Unii se opreau în loc şi priveau cu uimire la sărmanul bătrîn. Cărţile îi cădeau mereu din buzunare, în noroi. Oamenii îl opreau şi-i arătau cartea pierdută; el o ridica şi pornea iarăşi în fugă pe urma sicriului. La colţul străzii i s-a alăturat o bătrînă cerşetoare, care voia şi dînsa să petreacă mortul... Apoi căruţa a cotit şi n-am mai văzut nimic.”
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“When you allow the elevation of a man, one can be sure that you'll profit by his advancement. I've earned everything I've won, with my blood and sweat.”
― Robert E. Howard, quote from Conan of Cimmeria

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BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

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