There was an element of secrecy in a home library. It breathed of intellectual anarchy. - Isaac Asimov

All normal life, Peter, consciously or otherwise, resent domination. If the domination is by an inferior, or by a supposed inferior, the resentment becomes stronger.

The rate of technological advance has been slowing for centuries and is down to a crawl now. In some cases, it has stopped altogether. Is this something you've noticed? After all, you're a mathematician.' 'I can't say I've given the matter any thought.' 'No one does. It's accepted. Scientists are very good these days at saying that things are impossible, impractical, useless. They condemn any speculation at once.

Perché tante persone passavano la loro vita senza cercare la risposta a tutte le domande che c'erano... anzi, senza nemmeno porsi le domande? si chiese Seldon. Nella vita, esisteva qualcosa di più eccitante della ricerca delle risposte?