Gregory Benford

Science fiction writers didn't predict the fade-out of NASA's manned space operations, and they weren't prepared with alternative routes to space when that decline became undeniable. ”

Very little useful science got done in the space station. NASA never did the experiments needed to develop the technologies required for a genuine interplanetary expedition: centrifugal gravity to avoid bodily harm and a truly closed biosphere. ”

I have an artificial left shoulder, wired back together after a softball accident. ”

Indeed, the history of 20th century physics was in large measure about how to avoid the infinities that crop up in particle theory and cosmology. The idea of point particles is convenient but leads to profound, puzzling troubles. ”

I like audacious ideas. ”

In the end, postmodern art is obscene not because it is offensive, but because it is boring. ”

Around 1930, a small new phenomenon arose in Depression-ridden America, spawned out of the letter columns in science fiction magazines: fandom. ”

Aging is mostly the failure to repair. ”

Dinner at college high table is one of the legendary experiences of England. I could remember keenly each one I had attended; the repartee is sharper than the cutlery. ”

Experience shows that if you put more ethicists on a problem, you can end up with more problems. ”