Human beings never think for themselves, they find it too uncomfortable. For the most part, members of our species simply repeat what they are told -- and become upset if they are exposed to any different view. The characteristic human trait is not awareness but conformity, and the characteristic result is religious warfare. Other animals fight for territory or food; but, uniquely in the animal kingdom, human beings fight for their 'beliefs.'
The Lost World, p.7
...absence of proof is not proof of absence.
The Lost World, p.8
In the modern world, it's a much more serious transgression to shoot a tiger than to shoot your parents. Tigers have advocates.
The Lost World, p.108
Mass media swamps diversity. It makes every place the same. Bangkok or Tokyo or London: there's a McDonald's on one corner, a Benetton on another, a Gap across the street...All differences vanish. In a mass-media world, there's less of everything except the top ten books, records, movies, ideas. People worry about losing species diversity in the rain forest. But what about intellectual diversity -- our most necessary resource?
The Lost World, p.339
It's just theories. Human beings can't help making them, but the fact is that theories are just fantasies. And they change.
The Lost World, p.429
Who cares whether we understand the psychodynamics in this case? Do you want to understand how to swim, or do you want to jump in and start swimming? Only people who are afraid of the water want to understand it. Other people jump in and get wet.
Sphere 0500 Hours p.330