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1 " Arik and Cadie always knew they wouldn't be one of those couples that let problems between them fester. They would immediately address any issues that arose, bring them out into the open, discuss them until they reached a mutually satisfactory conclusion. They felt bad for some of the Founders who they believed had unhappy marriages — couples who were not strong enough to be truthful and open with each other, and even worse, with themselves "
― Christian Cantrell
2 " It's not technology that limits us. We're the limitation. Our technology is an expression of our intelligence and creativity, so the limitations of our technology are a reflection of our own limitations. We can't fundamentally advance technology until we fundamentally advance ourselves. "
3 " Do you know what Albert Einstein's definition of insanity was?" "No." "Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. "
4 " Most people think of viruses as parasites, but they aren't parasites at all. An organism has to be considered alive to be classified as a parasite. Viruses don't do any of things living organisms do. They don't grow, they can't move on their own, and they don't metabolize. They don't even have cells. But the one thing a virus is very good at is reproducing. When it finds a suitable host cell, it attaches itself and injects its DNA through the cell's plasma wall. The virus's genes are transcribed into the host cell's DNA, and the host cell's genetic code is rewritten. Whatever its job was before, its new job is to do nothing but produce copies of the original virus, usually until it's created so many that the cell bursts open and spreads the infection. "
5 " Because the thing about viruses is that they're easily manipulated. The DNA they inject doesn't have to be destructive. It can be replaced with almost any kind of DNA you want, and it can be programmed to only replace certain parts of the host's genetic code. In other words, viruses are perfect vectors for genetic engineering. "
6 " Most events people referred to as tragedies happened suddenly and spectacularly: earthquakes shaking entire cities to the ground, spacecrafts breaking up in the heat of reentry, nuclear reactors melting down during routine tests. These were the things we worried about, guarded against, spent countless hours training for. But Arik was realizing now that disaster could be dissembled into small unidentifiable components and smuggled past even our best defences. It could be allowed to accumulate right in front of us without tripping an alarm or registering on a sensor. Misfortune knew how to use our egos and our pride against us to lure us into vulnerable and defenceless positions. The more obstacles you placed in death's path, the more it was compelled to slip in through the cracks. "
― Christian Cantrell , Containment (Children of Occam #1)
7 " The fewer moving parts, the better." "Exactly. No truer words were ever spoken in the context of engineering. "
8 " Arik believed that one of the most fundamental laws of human psychology was that force caused resistance. Make people feel trapped, and they will never stop attempting to escape. But obscure the trap well enough, and it was possible to stop the idea of escape from even forming in your prisoners' minds. "
9 " Marriage was not the combination of two entities into one; it was instead the creation of a third entity whose sole purpose was to sooth and inspire the two individuals. "
10 " Solving problems isn't so much about simplifying them as it is about properly and realistically reducing them to only what's relevant. And one of the best ways to reduce a problem to only what's relevant is to throw away most of your assumptions about it. "
11 " True imprisonment, Arik now realized, was not the inability to move about or go where one wished; it was the realization, acknowledgement, and ultimately the acceptance of that inability. Imprisonment was more powerful as an idea than it was a physical condition. He thought about how many people who considered themselves free were simply oblivious to their restraints. "
12 " This is one holy Mongolian clusterfuck, gentlemen "
― Christian Cantrell , Farmer One
13 " The next generation of scientists and engineers needed to get better at the things computers weren’t good at: creativity, intuition, resourcefulness, and perhaps most importantly, curiosity. Half "
14 " If something seemed simple, you probably just weren’t looking at it hard enough or peeling away enough layers to see what’s really beneath. "
15 " The real meaning of Occam’s razor, Rosemary believed, was that explanations and solutions should be free from elements that have no real bearing on the system in question—that solving problems isn’t so much about simplifying them as it is about properly and realistically reducing them to only what’s relevant. And "
16 " Biomunitions is the science of violently destabilizing organic compounds. "
― Christian Cantrell , Human Legacy Project
17 " Of course the study was commissioned by a self-assembled panel of council members who, if their physiques were any indication, could easily be counted among the most sedentary of the entire crew. No serious objections were raised, though, since those with physically demanding occupations usually didn’t have the energy to exercise regularly anyway, and many of those with less active careers lacked the volition, positioning both parties squarely in the unfamiliar territory of consensus. "
― Christian Cantrell , Equinox (Children of Occam #2)
18 " Arik felt apprehensive. He was accustomed to having a great deal of freedom in his research and in the topics he chose to pursue, but he was starting to realize that such indulgences were the special privilege of childhood. For the first time, he realized how much of what he took for granted was going to change. He was about to become a resource—assigned specific tasks that were to be completed in specific and prescribed manners. His creativity and productivity were to be constrained and directed toward only those problems that his superiors deemed worthy of his effort. Arik was about to become an adult. "
19 " The real meaning of Occam’s razor, Rosemary believed, was that explanations and solutions should be free from elements that have no real bearing on the system in question—that solving problems isn’t so much about simplifying them as it is about properly and realistically reducing them to only what’s relevant. "
20 " reason why most machines "
