Jack McDevitt
Jack McDevitt
Jack McDevitt is an American science fiction author whose novels frequently deal with attempts to make contact with alien races, and with archaeology or xenoarchaeology. His two main series are the Alex Benedict series and the Priscilla Hutchins series...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionWriter
CountryUnited States of America
ideas people solitude
Solitude is only a good idea if you have the right people along to share it.
moving beer water
There's not much to be said for sightseeing. You go somewhere that has a waterfall. You have a beer, watch the water go over the edge, and move on. Tours are all the same. In the end, the only thing that matters is the beer.
running real fall
Idiots are not responsible for what they do. The real guilt falls on rational people who sit on their hands while morons run wild. You can opt out if you want to. Play it safe. But if you do, don't complain when the roof comes down.
successful careers perception
The secret to a successful career in virtually any field is good public relations. Forget results. Forget the facts. Perception is all that matters.
exercise people support
The term congressional hearing is an oxymoron. No congressional hearing is ever called to gather information. Rather, it is an exercise designed strictly for posturing, by people who have already made up their minds, looking for ammunition to support their positions.
issues decision going-away
Certain types of decisions can be safely ignored. Some issues will go away with the passage of time, others will be so slow developing that the decision-makers will depart before the results of their neglect becomes manifest. Which brings us to the environment.
pornography ifs i-can
Intelligence is like pornography. I can't define it, but I know if when I see it.
goal safety achieve
One could not always put safety up front as the prime goal. Do that, and who would ever achieve anything of note?
dream people chasing
What would happen is that people like Geroge and Alyx would grow old and die chasing a dream. Although there were probably worse things to do with one's life.
believe men long
So long as you believe in some truth you do not believe in yourself. You are a servant. A man of faith.
sorry integrity character
Throughout our long and sorry history it has been men who supposed themselves to be exemplars of integrity who have done all the damage. Every crusade, whether for decent literary standards or to cover women's bodies or to free the holy land, had been launched, endorsed, and enthusiastically perpetrated by men of character.
unity culture looks
The cultures we can look at had already grasped the essential unity of nature. No board of gods can survive that knowledge.
intelligent assuming individual
Don't assume that a species is intelligent because it produces intelligent individuals.
doe type happens
How does it happen that the most intractable types always rise to the top?