Quotes by Daniel Keyes

“I don’t know what’s worse: to not know what you are and be happy, or to become what you’ve always wanted to be, and feel alone.”

“I’m “exceptional”- a democratic term used to avoid the damning labels of “gifted” and “deprived” (which used to mean “bright” and “retarded”) and as soon as “exceptional” begins to mean anything to...”

“Even a feeble-minded man wants to be like other men."--Charlie Gordan”

“Now I understand one of the important reasons for going to college and getting an education is to learn that the things you've believed in all your life aren't true, and that nothing is what it app...”

“The answer can't be found in books — or be solved by bringing it to other people. Not unless you want to remain a child all your life. You've got to find the answer inside you — feel the right thin...”

“My most absorbing interests at the present time are etymologies of ancient languages, the newer works on the calculus of variations, and Hindu history. It's amazing the way things, apparently disco...”

“People resent being shown that they don't approach the complexities of the problem — they don't know what exists beyond the surface ripples.”

“Strange about learning; the farther I go the more I see that I never knew even existed.”

“Even a feeble-minded man wants to be like other men.”

“The foolish thing was trying to solve the problem all by myself. But the deeper I get tangled up in this mass of dreams and memories the more I realize that emotional problems can't be solved as in...”

“I've got to grow up. For me it means everything...”

“You can't have everything you want in one woman.”

“The meaning of my total existence involves knowing the possibilities of my future as well as my past, where I'm going as well as where I've been.”

“I am not only a thing, but also a way of being — one of many ways — and knowing the paths I have followed and the ones left to take will help me understand what I am becoming.”

“So many of the ideas on which our psychologists base their beliefs about human intelligence, memory, and learning are all wishful thinking.”

“There are a lot of people who will give money or materials, but very few who will give time and affection.”

“How many great problems have gone unsolved because men didn't know enough, or have enough faith in the creative process and in themselves, to let go for the whole mind to work at it?”

“No one really starts anything new, Mrs Nemur. Everyone builds on other men's failures. There is nothing really original in science. What each man contributes to the sum of knowledge is what counts.”

“We learn what something is not — and that is as important as a positive discovery to the man who is going to pick up from there. At least he knows what not to do.”

“Intelligence alone doesn't mean a damned thing. Here in your university, intelligence, education, knowledge, have all become great idols. But I know now there's one thing you've all overlooked: int...”