Kurt Vonnegut
@kurt-vonnegut.bsky.social
Satire, humanism and a touch of cosmic absurdity—quotes and passages celebrating the wit and wisdom of author Kurt Vonnegut.
Anticipating the invention of chat LLMs nearly 40 years before their commercial proliferation, Kurt Vonnegut gave us “Mandarax” in his 1985 novel, Galápagos.
November 11, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Anticipating the invention of chat LLMs nearly 40 years before their commercial proliferation, Kurt Vonnegut gave us “Mandarax” in his 1985 novel, Galápagos.
“I have been a soreheaded occupant of a file drawer labeled ‘science fiction’ ever since, and I would like out, particularly since so many serious critics regularly mistake the drawer for a urinal.
The way a person gets into this drawer, apparently, is to notice technology.”
Science Fiction (1974)
The way a person gets into this drawer, apparently, is to notice technology.”
Science Fiction (1974)
October 7, 2025 at 1:35 PM
“I have been a soreheaded occupant of a file drawer labeled ‘science fiction’ ever since, and I would like out, particularly since so many serious critics regularly mistake the drawer for a urinal.
The way a person gets into this drawer, apparently, is to notice technology.”
Science Fiction (1974)
The way a person gets into this drawer, apparently, is to notice technology.”
Science Fiction (1974)
". . . “Anyway, Thoreau was in jail because he wouldn't pay a tax to support the Mexican War. He didn't believe in the war. And Emerson came to jail to see him. 'Henry,' he said, 'why are you here?' And Thoreau said, 'Ralph, why *aren't* you here?’”. . .”
Player Piano (1952)
Player Piano (1952)
September 18, 2025 at 7:17 PM
". . . “Anyway, Thoreau was in jail because he wouldn't pay a tax to support the Mexican War. He didn't believe in the war. And Emerson came to jail to see him. 'Henry,' he said, 'why are you here?' And Thoreau said, 'Ralph, why *aren't* you here?’”. . .”
Player Piano (1952)
Player Piano (1952)
“He coined a new word for Sylvia's disease, ‘Samaritrophia,’ which he said meant, ‘hysterical indifference to the troubles of those less fortunate than oneself.’ . . .”
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965)
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965)
September 8, 2025 at 1:58 PM
“He coined a new word for Sylvia's disease, ‘Samaritrophia,’ which he said meant, ‘hysterical indifference to the troubles of those less fortunate than oneself.’ . . .”
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965)
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965)
“. . . its success in keeping the common people reasonably happy and proud depended on the strength of the people themselves— and yet it described no practical machinery which would tend to make the people, as opposed to their elected representatives, strong. . .”
Slapstick (1976)
Slapstick (1976)
September 2, 2025 at 2:43 PM
“. . . its success in keeping the common people reasonably happy and proud depended on the strength of the people themselves— and yet it described no practical machinery which would tend to make the people, as opposed to their elected representatives, strong. . .”
Slapstick (1976)
Slapstick (1976)
“. . . What I'm telling you now is: This world is full of suffering, and money can do a lot to relieve that suffering, and I have far more money than I can use. I want to buy decent food and clothing and housing for the poor, and right away. . .”
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965)
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965)
August 31, 2025 at 5:01 PM
“. . . What I'm telling you now is: This world is full of suffering, and money can do a lot to relieve that suffering, and I have far more money than I can use. I want to buy decent food and clothing and housing for the poor, and right away. . .”
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965)
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965)
"’. . .a man can obey every law and still be the worst criminal of his time.’ . . . ‘You are yet another nincompoop, who, by being at the wrong place at the wrong time,’ he said, ‘was able to set humanitarianism back a full century! Begone!’”
Jailbird (1979)
Jailbird (1979)
August 29, 2025 at 1:59 PM
"’. . .a man can obey every law and still be the worst criminal of his time.’ . . . ‘You are yet another nincompoop, who, by being at the wrong place at the wrong time,’ he said, ‘was able to set humanitarianism back a full century! Begone!’”
Jailbird (1979)
Jailbird (1979)
“And it was [AI] who would decide for the coming years how many engineers and managers and research men and civil servants, and of what skills, would be needed in order to deliver the goods; and what IQ and aptitude levels would separate the useful men from the useless ones…”
Player Piano (1952)
Player Piano (1952)
August 26, 2025 at 4:49 PM
“And it was [AI] who would decide for the coming years how many engineers and managers and research men and civil servants, and of what skills, would be needed in order to deliver the goods; and what IQ and aptitude levels would separate the useful men from the useless ones…”
Player Piano (1952)
Player Piano (1952)
“…Without imaginations, though, they couldn't do what their ancestors had done, which was read interesting, heartwarming stories in the faces of one another. So, according to Kilgore Trout, ‘Booboolings became among the most merciless creatures in the local family of galaxies.’”
Timequake (1997)
Timequake (1997)
August 23, 2025 at 9:34 PM
“…Without imaginations, though, they couldn't do what their ancestors had done, which was read interesting, heartwarming stories in the faces of one another. So, according to Kilgore Trout, ‘Booboolings became among the most merciless creatures in the local family of galaxies.’”
Timequake (1997)
Timequake (1997)
“Father and Mother used to tell me much the same thing. They, too, were made to feel like fools who had somehow gone to great pains to deliver themselves to a slaughterhouse.”
Jailbird (1979)
Jailbird (1979)
August 22, 2025 at 2:12 PM
“Father and Mother used to tell me much the same thing. They, too, were made to feel like fools who had somehow gone to great pains to deliver themselves to a slaughterhouse.”
Jailbird (1979)
Jailbird (1979)
“. . . And the Law of Natural Selection was powerless to respond to such new technologies. No female of any species, unless, maybe, she was a rhinoceros, could expect to give birth to a baby who was fireproof, bombproof, or bulletproof.”
Galápagos (1985)
Galápagos (1985)
August 21, 2025 at 4:42 PM
“. . . And the Law of Natural Selection was powerless to respond to such new technologies. No female of any species, unless, maybe, she was a rhinoceros, could expect to give birth to a baby who was fireproof, bombproof, or bulletproof.”
Galápagos (1985)
Galápagos (1985)
". . .’History is merely a list of surprises,’ I said. ‘It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again. Please write that down.’”
Slapstick (1976)
Slapstick (1976)
August 19, 2025 at 2:28 PM
". . .’History is merely a list of surprises,’ I said. ‘It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again. Please write that down.’”
Slapstick (1976)
Slapstick (1976)
"It means that our hatred of useless human beings and the cruelties we inflict upon them for their own good need not be part of human nature. Thanks to the example of Eliot Rosewater, millions upon millions of people may learn to love and help whomever they see."
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965)
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965)
August 17, 2025 at 2:32 PM
"It means that our hatred of useless human beings and the cruelties we inflict upon them for their own good need not be part of human nature. Thanks to the example of Eliot Rosewater, millions upon millions of people may learn to love and help whomever they see."
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965)
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965)
“. . . E = Mc^2 — It was a flawed equation, as far as I was concerned. There should have been an ‘A’ in there somewhere for Awareness without which the ‘E’ and the ‘M’ and the ‘c,’ which was a mathematical constant; could not exist.”
Breakfast of Champions (1973)
Breakfast of Champions (1973)
August 13, 2025 at 1:52 PM
“. . . E = Mc^2 — It was a flawed equation, as far as I was concerned. There should have been an ‘A’ in there somewhere for Awareness without which the ‘E’ and the ‘M’ and the ‘c,’ which was a mathematical constant; could not exist.”
Breakfast of Champions (1973)
Breakfast of Champions (1973)
“. . . most people cannot open their minds to new ideas unless a mind-opening team with a peculiar membership goes to work on them. Otherwise, life will go on exactly as before, no matter how painful, unrealistic, unjust, ludicrous, or downright dumb that life may be.”
Bluebeard (1987)
Bluebeard (1987)
August 12, 2025 at 1:53 PM
“. . . most people cannot open their minds to new ideas unless a mind-opening team with a peculiar membership goes to work on them. Otherwise, life will go on exactly as before, no matter how painful, unrealistic, unjust, ludicrous, or downright dumb that life may be.”
Bluebeard (1987)
Bluebeard (1987)
". . . ‘I found me a place where I can do good without doing any harm, and I can see I'm doing good, and them I'm doing good for know I'm doing it, and they love me, Unk, as best they can. I found me a home.’ . . .”
The Sirens of Titan (1959)
The Sirens of Titan (1959)
August 11, 2025 at 2:30 PM
". . . ‘I found me a place where I can do good without doing any harm, and I can see I'm doing good, and them I'm doing good for know I'm doing it, and they love me, Unk, as best they can. I found me a home.’ . . .”
The Sirens of Titan (1959)
The Sirens of Titan (1959)
“In the early days of television, when there were only half a dozen channels at most, significant, well-written dramas on a cathode-ray tube could still make us feel like members of an attentive congregation, alone at home as we might be. . .”
Timequake (1997)
Timequake (1997)
August 6, 2025 at 2:06 PM
“In the early days of television, when there were only half a dozen channels at most, significant, well-written dramas on a cathode-ray tube could still make us feel like members of an attentive congregation, alone at home as we might be. . .”
Timequake (1997)
Timequake (1997)
“. . .The women all had big minds because they were big animals, but they did not use them much for this reason: unusual ideas could make enemies, and the women, if they were going to achieve any sort of comfort and safety, needed all the friends they could get. . .”
Breakfast of Champions (1973)
Breakfast of Champions (1973)
August 5, 2025 at 2:47 PM
“. . .The women all had big minds because they were big animals, but they did not use them much for this reason: unusual ideas could make enemies, and the women, if they were going to achieve any sort of comfort and safety, needed all the friends they could get. . .”
Breakfast of Champions (1973)
Breakfast of Champions (1973)
". . .You gave up everything a man is supposed to want, just to help the little people, and the little people know it. God bless you, Mr. Rosewater. Good night."
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965)
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965)
August 4, 2025 at 2:31 PM
". . .You gave up everything a man is supposed to want, just to help the little people, and the little people know it. God bless you, Mr. Rosewater. Good night."
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965)
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965)
“. . .‘At least we still have freedom of speech,’ I said.
And she said, ‘That isn't something somebody else gives you.
That's something you have to give yourself.’”
Hocus Pocus (1990)
And she said, ‘That isn't something somebody else gives you.
That's something you have to give yourself.’”
Hocus Pocus (1990)
August 3, 2025 at 3:15 PM
“. . .‘At least we still have freedom of speech,’ I said.
And she said, ‘That isn't something somebody else gives you.
That's something you have to give yourself.’”
Hocus Pocus (1990)
And she said, ‘That isn't something somebody else gives you.
That's something you have to give yourself.’”
Hocus Pocus (1990)
“. . . he made sure that I knew by heart the most famous words uttered by Debs, which are:
‘While there is a lower class I am in it. While there is a criminal element I am of it. While there is a soul in prison I am not free.’”
(Hocus Pocus 1990)
‘While there is a lower class I am in it. While there is a criminal element I am of it. While there is a soul in prison I am not free.’”
(Hocus Pocus 1990)
June 25, 2025 at 3:17 PM
“. . . he made sure that I knew by heart the most famous words uttered by Debs, which are:
‘While there is a lower class I am in it. While there is a criminal element I am of it. While there is a soul in prison I am not free.’”
(Hocus Pocus 1990)
‘While there is a lower class I am in it. While there is a criminal element I am of it. While there is a soul in prison I am not free.’”
(Hocus Pocus 1990)
“. . . they buggered the statistics in the ads. They made the average for everything so high that everybody on the planet felt inferior to the majority in every respect.”
June 25, 2025 at 2:56 PM
“. . . they buggered the statistics in the ads. They made the average for everything so high that everybody on the planet felt inferior to the majority in every respect.”
“. . . Every bit of land on the islands was owned by only about forty people, and, in the story, Trout had those people decide to exercise their property rights to the full. They put up no trespassing signs on everything.
This created terrible problems for the million other people on the islands.”
This created terrible problems for the million other people on the islands.”
June 4, 2025 at 4:26 PM
“. . . Every bit of land on the islands was owned by only about forty people, and, in the story, Trout had those people decide to exercise their property rights to the full. They put up no trespassing signs on everything.
This created terrible problems for the million other people on the islands.”
This created terrible problems for the million other people on the islands.”
“‘You are surrounded by loving
machines, hating machines, greedy machines, unselfish machines, brave machines, cowardly machines, truthful machines, lying machines, funny machines, solemn machines,’ he read.”
Breakfast of Champions (1973)
machines, hating machines, greedy machines, unselfish machines, brave machines, cowardly machines, truthful machines, lying machines, funny machines, solemn machines,’ he read.”
Breakfast of Champions (1973)
April 6, 2025 at 6:07 PM
“‘You are surrounded by loving
machines, hating machines, greedy machines, unselfish machines, brave machines, cowardly machines, truthful machines, lying machines, funny machines, solemn machines,’ he read.”
Breakfast of Champions (1973)
machines, hating machines, greedy machines, unselfish machines, brave machines, cowardly machines, truthful machines, lying machines, funny machines, solemn machines,’ he read.”
Breakfast of Champions (1973)
“Man blinked. ‘What is the purpose of all this?’ he asked politely.
‘Everything must have a purpose?’ asked God.
‘Certainly,’ said man.
‘Then I leave it to you to think of one for all this,’ said God. And He went away.”
Cat’s Cradle
‘Everything must have a purpose?’ asked God.
‘Certainly,’ said man.
‘Then I leave it to you to think of one for all this,’ said God. And He went away.”
Cat’s Cradle
April 5, 2025 at 3:17 PM
“Man blinked. ‘What is the purpose of all this?’ he asked politely.
‘Everything must have a purpose?’ asked God.
‘Certainly,’ said man.
‘Then I leave it to you to think of one for all this,’ said God. And He went away.”
Cat’s Cradle
‘Everything must have a purpose?’ asked God.
‘Certainly,’ said man.
‘Then I leave it to you to think of one for all this,’ said God. And He went away.”
Cat’s Cradle