Our job is not to predict the future. Rather, it's to suggest all the possible futures - so that society can make informed decisions about where we want to go.
Robert J. SawyerRead
People are looking for a simplicity in their fictional worlds where good and evil are clearly delineated, that you can't find in the real world, and that provides an enormous comfort - and that, I think, has an awful lot to do with the reason fantasy is so popular.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Fantasy offers clear distinctions between good and evil, providing comfort that reality lacks.
In this quote, Robert J. Sawyer highlights the allure of fantasy fiction, suggesting that many people seek solace in stories where moral boundaries are well-defined. Unlike the complexity and ambiguity of real life, where good and evil often blur, fantasy provides a straightforward narrative that allows individuals to escape into a world that feels safer and more comforting.
Themes
FantasyGoodEvilComfortReal World
In practice
Example use cases
During a book club discussion, one could say, 'As Robert J. Sawyer illustrates, fantasy provides the simplicity in moral distinctions that we often yearn for in a complex world.'
More from Robert J. Sawyer
All quotes →One of the things that science fiction gets to do is thought experiments about the human condition that would be impractical or unethical to conduct in real life.
Robert J. SawyerRead
Similar quotes
I've seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts.
John SteinbeckRead
In religion and politics, people's belief's and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second hand, and without examination
Mark TwainRead
The envious die not once, but as oft as the envied win applause.
Baltasar GracianRead
Man, as the minister and interpreter of nature, is limited in act and understanding by his observation of the order of nature; neither his understanding nor his power extends further.
Francis BaconRead
To poison a nation, poison its stories. A demoralised nation tells demoralised stories to itself. Beware of the storytellers who are not fully conscious of the importance of their gifts, and who are irresponsible in the application of their art: they
Ben OkriRead
For every force charged by God, may He be exalted, with some business is an angel put in charge.
MaimonidesRead