“I think it's a rule that it's socially acceptable to wet yourself when aliens enter your mind for the first time. If it wasn't already, it is now.”
In this quote by Orson Scott Card, the speaker humorously comments on the overwhelming and uncontrollable feeling one might experience when encountering something completely foreign and incomprehensible, such as aliens entering one's mind. The use of humor in the statement serves to highlight the absurdity and intensity of the situation, while also suggesting a sense of vulnerability and loss of control. By jokingly referring to wetting oneself as a socially acceptable response in this scenario, Card paints a vivid picture of the awe and fear that come with encountering the unknown. The quote ultimately speaks to the power and impact of encountering the unfamiliar on our emotions and reactions.
Orson Scott Card's quote about wetting oneself when faced with the presence of aliens may seem humorous at first glance, but it actually touches on a deeper topic of human vulnerability and fear of the unknown. In today's world, where the concept of extraterrestrial life is increasingly discussed and explored, this quote serves as a reminder of the instinctual reactions that may surface when encountering the unfamiliar. Whether it be in the realm of science fiction or in the realm of scientific discovery, the idea of alien encounters continues to captivate and challenge our understanding of the universe.
"I think it's a rule that it's socially acceptable to wet yourself when aliens enter your mind for the first time. If it wasn't already, it is now." - Orson Scott Card
When reading this quote by Orson Scott Card, think about the implications of encountering something so foreign and unknown that it causes such a visceral reaction as wetting oneself. Consider the idea that facing the unknown can be overwhelming and even frightening. Reflect on how you would react in a similar situation and what it might reveal about your own fears and vulnerabilities. How do you think society's perceptions of encountering the unfamiliar have evolved over time?
“I think scientists have a valid point when they bemoan the fact that it's socially acceptable in our culture to be utterly ignorant of math, whereas it is a shameful thing to be illiterate.”
“It may sometimes happen that a truth, an insight, which you have slowly and laboriously puzzled out by thinking for yourself could have easily have been found already written in a book: but it is a hundred times more valuable if you have arrived at it by thinking for yourself. For only then will it enter your thought system as an integral part and living member, be perfectly and firmly consistent with it and in accord with all its other consequences and conclusions, bear the hue, colour and stamp of your whole manner of thinking, and have arrived at just the moment it was needed ; thus it will stay firmly and forever lodged in your mind.”
“Your explanation for anything slightly odd is aliens,' said Lister. 'You lose your keys, it's aliens. A picture falls off the wall, it's aliens. That time we used up a whole bog roll in a day, you thought that was aliens.”
“When social critics deplore the materialism of our time and its preoccupation with money, fame, and superficial values, they overlook that the driving force behind the changes we have seen -- one of the greatest periods of change in history -- has been thought. It wasn't big bucks or social status that drove this change. It was, and is, the force of the play of the mind. As materialistic as we may be, playful thinking got us here.”
“What comes to your mind when you think of the word Transylvania, if you ponder it at all? What comes to my mind are mountains of savage beauty, ancient castles, werewolves, and witches - a land of magical obscurity. How, in short, am I to believe I will still be in Europe, on entering such a realm? I shall let you know if it's Europe or fairyland, when I get there. First, Snagov - I set out tomorrow.”