Calculating God Quotes

“Learning to ignore things is one of the great paths to inner peace.”
― Robert J. Sawyer, Calculating God

“There is no indisputable proof for the big bang," said Hollus. "And there is none for evolution. And yet you accept those. Why hold the question of whether there is a creator to a higher standard?”
― Robert J. Sawyer, Calculating God

“It is either coincidence piled on top of coincidence," said Hollus, "or it is deliberate design.”
― Robert J. Sawyer, Calculating God

“If theft is advantageous to everyone who succeeds at it, and adultery is a good strategy, at least for males, for increasing presence in the gene pool, why do we feel they are wrong? Shouldn't the only morality that evolution produces be the kind Bill Clinton had - being sorry you got caught?”
― Robert J. Sawyer, Calculating God

“No one disputes that seeming order can come out of the application of simple rules. But who wrote the rules?”
― Robert J. Sawyer, Calculating God

“I learned that you can't choose the ways in which you'll be tested.”
― Robert J. Sawyer, Calculating God

“That natural selection can produce changes within a type is disputed by no one, not even the staunchest creationist. But that it can transform one species into another — that, in fact, has never been observed.”
― Robert J. Sawyer, Calculating God

“A smoking gun is incontrovertible evidence. And that’s what I want: indisputable proof.” “There is no indisputable proof for the big bang,” said Hollus. “And there is none for evolution. And yet you accept those. Why hold the question of whether there is a creator to a higher standard?”
― Robert J. Sawyer, Calculating God: A Novel

“The universe was the application, running now for 13.9 billion years, leading up to this moment”
― Robert J. Sawyer, Calculating God: A Novel

“God was the programmer. The laws of physics and the fundamental constants were the source code.”
― Robert J. Sawyer, Calculating God: A Novel

“Human embryos develop then discard gills, tails, and other apparent echoes of their evolutionary past.”
― Robert J. Sawyer, Calculating God: A Novel

“now understood why cancer existed—why God needed cells that could continue to divide even after their telomeres were exhausted. The tumors in isolated lifeforms were merely an unfortunate side effect; as T’kna had said, “The specific deployment of reality that included cancer, presumably undesirable, must have also contained something much desired.” And the much-desired thing was this: the ability to link chromosomes, to join species, to concatenate lifeforms—the biochemical potential to create something new, something more.”
― Robert J. Sawyer, Calculating God: A Novel

“It does create an odd dynamic,” said Hollus. “Violence is required for intelligence, intelligence gives rise to the ability to destroy one’s species, and only through intelligence can one overcome the violence that gave rise to that intelligence.”
― Robert J. Sawyer, Calculating God: A Novel

“There is no indisputable proof for the big bang,” said Hollus. “And there is none for evolution. And yet you accept those. Why hold the question of whether there is a creator to a higher standard?”
― Robert J. Sawyer, Calculating God: A Novel

“I did learn one valuable lesson, though. I learned that you can’t choose the ways in which you’ll be tested.”
― Robert J. Sawyer, Calculating God: A Novel

“I have described to you why God must exist—or, at least, must have at one time existed—in mathematical terms that come as close to certainty as anything in science possibly could. And still you deny his existence.” The pain was growing worse. It would subside, of course. “Yes,” I said. “I deny God’s existence.”
― Robert J. Sawyer, Calculating God: A Novel

“I could go on,” he said, “talking about the remarkable, carefully adjusted parameters that make life possible, but the reality is simply this: if any of them—any in this long chain—were different, there would be no life in this universe. We are either the most incredible fluke imaginable—something far, far more unlikely than you winning your provincial lottery every single week for a century—or the universe and its components were designed, purposefully and with great care, to give rise to life.” I felt a jab of pain in my chest;”
― Robert J. Sawyer, Calculating God: A Novel

“the fifth force is a repulsive one that operates over extremely long distances.”
― Robert J. Sawyer, Calculating God: A Novel

“There is great beauty in randomness,” said Hollus. “But I speak about a much more basic design. This universe has had its fundamental parameters fine-tuned to an almost infinite degree so that it would support life.”
― Robert J. Sawyer, Calculating God: A Novel