Charles Sheffield

Be an optimist! It’s the only way to live.

The important question wasn’t whether or not you thought you were the right one to lead. It was whether others believed you were.

In the old words of wisdom, you can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, and that’s usually enough to get by.

Somehow he felt more resigned than surprised. Things had been going far too well for far too long. Just when you thought you had the universe by the tail, it turned round and bit you on the ass.

Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue.

As you will one day discover, a leader is not a leader because of the way that he or she behaves. He is a leader only because of the way that he is treated by others.

Are we perhaps guilty of temporal chauvinism, believing that our own time is uniquely important, as all generation tend to think that their time is of unique importance?

It was improbable for him to meet his old friends here? Fine, so it was improbable; but it had happened. “Improbable” was something you could only apply to future events.

Science wasn’t a show-business talent, conducted in large halls and decided by audience applause.

You can learn more about a person by watching them eat one meal than by listening to them speak for a whole day.

The Asteroid Belt contains everything from substantial bodies like Ceres, seven hundred and fifty kilometers across, all the way down to house-sized boulders, pebbles, and grains of sand. One good rule of thumb is that for every object of a given size, there will be ten times as many one-third that size.

One thing you have to teach the young is that it’s wrong to run away from problems.

We're all here," said Louis Nenda's voice.
"Where's here? Can you see?"
"Not a thing. Black as a politician's heart.

Everyone agreed what an interesting concept it was—the sort of thing that ought to be true, in an interesting world.

He was a professional trouble-shooter. That was a fancy name for an idiot.