Quotes by Fred Hoyle

“I do not see any sense in continuing to skirmish on a battlefield where I can never hope to win. The Cambridge system is effectively designed to prevent one ever establishing a directed policy — ke...”

“Once a photograph of the Earth, taken from outside, is available, we shall, in an emotional sense, acquire an additional dimension... Once let the sheer isolation of the Earth become plain to every...”

“Once the spark was struck the story would spread like wildfire, and would be in the papers in next to no time. The Director had never had any cause to think highly of newspaper reporters, particula...”

“But I can’t go along and gatecrash.Nonsense, of course you can come—a guest from England! You’ll be the lion of the party. Probably half a dozen film moguls from Hollywood will want to sign you up ...”

“The two men were mentally too dissimilar for more than a half hour of conversation between them to be possible.”

“I’m still waiting to hear how I should have compromised. Are you sure that ‘compromise’ and ‘capitulate’ are not synonymous in your vocabulary?”

“Ifs and buts are the stuff of politics, Mr. Parkinson. As a scientist I am concerned with facts not with motives, suspicions, and airy-fairy nothingness.”

“You haven’t very much respect for my profession, have you, Professor Kingsley?Since it is you who wish for frankness, I will tell you that I have not. I regard politicians rather as I regard the in...”

“Not everyone views the government with quite the same disrespect that you do.No, more’s the pity.”

“The policy was to keep everything in watertight compartments. In the interests of security, they said, but more likely in the interests of inefficiency.”

“Before anyone starts criticising, let me say that I know it’s a preposterous idea and I wouldn’t suggest it for a moment if the alternative weren’t even more outrageously preposterous.”

“I will say this for you, Chris. I never knew anyone who was better at finding work for other people.”

“Viewed from a wholly logical point of view the bearing and rearing of children is a thoroughly unattractive proposition. To a woman it means pain and endless worry. To a man it means extra work ext...”