Life is like topography, Hobbes. There are summits of happiness and success, flat stretches of boring routine and valleys of frustration and failure.
Bill WattersonRead
The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The absence of contact from intelligent extraterrestrial life suggests they are either wise enough to avoid us or do not see us as worth contacting.
Bill Watterson's quote reflects on the idea that if intelligent life exists beyond Earth, their lack of contact with humanity might imply their intelligence leads them to recognize the potential dangers or triviality of engaging with a species that often acts irrationally. This thought prompts a contemplation of our own actions and the nature of intelligence, suggesting that perhaps not all intelligence seeks to dominate or interact, but some may choose silence out of prudence or disinterest.
Themes
Intelligent LifeUniverseContactPhilosophyIntelligence
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on astrobiology, one could use this quote to highlight the enigmatic nature of extraterrestrial intelligence.
More from Bill Watterson
All quotes βSometimes when I'm talking, my words can't keep up with my thoughts. I wonder why we think faster than we speak. Probably so we can think twice.
Bill WattersonRead
The secret to enjoying your job is to have a hobby that's even worse
Bill WattersonRead
Shutting off the thought process is not rejuvenating; the mind is like a car battery - it recharges by running.
Bill WattersonRead
Mothers are the necessity of invention.
Bill WattersonRead
Dad: Honey, have you seen my glasses? I can"t find them. Mom: I haven't seen them. Calvin: (with glasses, to Dad) Calvin, go do something you hate! Being miserable builds character!
Bill WattersonRead
Similar quotes
Those who call themselves anti-Zionists usually insist they are not anti-Semites. But I struggle to see what else to call an ideology that seeks to eradicate only one state in the world - the one that happens to be the Jewish one - while empathetically insisting on the rights of self-determination for every other minority.
Bari WeissRead
After all Death is a Symbol that there was Life.
Mario BenedettiRead
The majority have no other reason for their opinions than that they are the fashion.
Samuel JohnsonRead
I have said that the soul is not more than the body, And I have said that the body is not more than the soul, And nothing, not God, is greater to one than one's-self is.
Walt WhitmanRead
In general there is something puzzling about the fact that the most renowned figures in chess - Morphy, Pillsbury, Capablanca and Fischer - were born in America.
Garry KasparovRead
But now we got weapons _x000D_ _x000D_ Of the chemical dust _x000D_ _x000D_ If fire them we're forced to _x000D_ _x000D_ Then fire them we must _x000D_ _x000D_ One push of the button _x000D_ _x000D_ And a shot the world wide _x000D_ _x000D_ And you never ask questions _x000D_ _x000D_ When God's on your side
Bob DylanRead