Intelligence - Quotes from Science Fiction

A lot of quotations carefully collected from a very big amount of books and divided by categories.

Have fun reading it, this is really interesting and breathtaking!

Intellectual versatility is the compensation for change, danger, and trouble. An animal perfectly in harmony with its environment is a perfect mechanism. Nature never appeals to intelligence until habit and instinct are useless. There is no intelligence where there is no change and no need of change. Only those animals partake of intelligence that have to meet a huge variety of needs and dangers.

- H. G.Wells, The Time Machine: An Invention (1895)

The last battle of brains against brutality had been fought on the bosom of the earth. And the intelligence of man had conquered his primeval ruthlessness.

- Edwin Balmer and PhilipWylie, WhenWorlds Collide (1932)

My mother used to say to me, ''In this world, Elwood''

- she always called me Elwood - she'd say, ''In this world, Elwood, you must be oh, so smart or oh, so pleasant.'' For years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.

- Mary Chase, Harvey (play, 1944)

The brainier you are, the less stable you are, usually.

- Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore, ''Time Enough'' (1946)

In general, the greater the understanding, the greater the delusion; the more intelligent, the less sane.

- George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)

Intelligence is like candy. It comes in an endless variety of shapes, sizes and colors, no one of which is less delectable than the others.

- Eric Frank Russell, ''Fast Falls the Eventide'' (1952)

Twentieth-century man had both intelligence and instinct; he chose, unfortunately, to rely upon intelligence.

- Shirley Jackson, ''Bulletin'' (1954)

Life, all life, has the twin drives to survive and to reproduce. Intelligence is an aimless byproduct except as it serves these basic drives.

- Robert A. Heinlein, Tunnel in the Sky (1955)

''What made them realize that we were rational beings?'' Hawkins' face darkened. ''Only rational beings,'' he said, ''put other beings in cages.''

- A. Bertram Chandler, ''The Cage'' (1957)

Dr. Strauss says I shud rite down what I think and evrey thing that happins to me from now on. I dont know why but he says its important so they will see if they will use me. I hope they use me. Miss Kinnian says maybe they can make me smart. I want to be smart.

- Daniel Keyes, ''Flowers for Algernon'' (1959)

He was one of those unfortunate persons who have just enough intelligence to disapprove of the status quo but not quite enough to do anything about it.

- Robert F. Young, ''ThereWas an Old WomanWho Lived in a Shoe'' (1962)

Human intelligence was more trouble than it was worth. It was more destructive than creative, more confusing than revealing, more discouraging than satisfying, more spiteful than charitable.

- Michael Crichton, The Andromeda Strain (1969)

That's how people with brains operate: they don't believe a damn thing or feel sorry for anyone.

- Arkady Strugatsky and Boris Strugatsky, Prisoners of Power (1969), translated by Helen Saltz Jacobson (1977)

Intellectualism tends to foster negative thinking and may lead to psychosis, and those suffering from it should ideally be treated, as Professor Arca was treated, and released if still competent.

- Ursula K. Le Guin, ''The Diary of the Rose'' (1976)

There were moments in which he would have been glad to rid himself of that intelligence, like a crippling thing, not a privilege or gift, for continual thought must have tormented him.

- Stanislaw Lem, ''The Mask'' (1976), translated by Michael Kandel (1977)

''D'you mean clever or intelligent?'' ''Aren't they the same?'' ''No. Cleverness requires humor. Intelligence does not.''

- Alfred Bester, ''Galatea Galante'' (1979)

Dear Benson, you are so mercifully free of the ravages of intelligence.

- Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin, Time Bandits (film, 1981)

Brainpower is the scarcest commodity and the only one of real value. Any human organization can be rendered useless, impotent, a danger to itself, by selectively removing its best minds while carefully leaving the stupid ones in place.

- Robert A. Heinlein, Friday (1982)

This is one of those uncomfortable periods when galactic intelligence is rife. Intelligence is a great bother. It makes all kinds of trouble for us.

- Bruce Sterling, ''Swarm'' (1982)

Intelligence is not a survival trait.

- Bruce Sterling, ''Swarm'' (1982)

Intelligence does enable you to deny facts you dislike.

- Octavia E. Butler, Dawn (1987)

High intelligence tends to remove itself from general considerations as though they can be left to the service classes and only the abstruse is worth its attention.

- George Turner, Drowning Towers (1987)

What, anyway, was he to say? That intelligence could surpass and excel the blind force of evolution, with its emphasis on mutation, struggle and death? That conscious cooperation was more efficient than feral competition?

- Iain M. Banks, The Player of Games (1988)