Terry Pratchett - Collected Quotes

"A stray thought, wandering through the dimensions in search of a mind to harbour it, slid into his brain." (Terry Pratchett, "The Colour of Magic", 1983)

"The dimension of the imagination is much more complex than those of time and space, which are very junior dimensions indeed." (Terry Pratchett, "The Colour of Magic", 1983)

"Real stupidity beats artificial intelligence every time." (Terry Pratchett, "Hogfather", 1996)

"Belief is a force. It’s a weak force, by comparison with gravity; when it comes to moving mountains, gravity wins every time. But it still exists." (Terry Pratchett, "Pyramids", 1989)

"It is now known to science that there are many more dimensions than the classical four. Scientists say that these don’t normally impinge on the world because the extra dimensions are very small and curve in on themselves, and that since reality is fractal most of it is tucked inside itself. This means either that the universe is more full of wonders than we can hope to understand or, more probably, that scientists make things up as they go along." (Terry Pratchett, Pyramids, 1989)

"Most people don’t listen. They use the time when someone else is speaking to think of what they’re going to say next. True Listeners have always been revered among oral cultures, and prized for their rarity value." (Terry Pratchett, "Pyramids", 1989)

"People needed to believe in gods, if only because it was so hard to believe in people." (Terry Pratchett, "Pyramids", 1989)

"The gods of the Disc have always been fascinated by humanity’s incredible ability to say exactly the wrong thing at the wrong time." (Terry Pratchett, "Pyramids", 1989)

"science: A way of finding things out and then making them work. Science explains what is happening around us the whole time." (Terry Pratchett, "Wings", 1990)

"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it." (Terry Pratchett, "Diggers", 1990)

"The trouble with being a god is that you’ve got no one to pray to." (Terry Pratchett, "Small Gods", 1992)

"Chaos is found in greatest abundance wherever order is being sought. It always defeats order, because it is better organized." (Terry Pratchett, "Interesting Times", 1995)