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100 Mind-Blowing William Gibson Quotes You Must Know

Famous As: Science-Fiction Writer Known for His Novel ‘Neuromancer’ and a Pinoeer of 'Cyberpunk' Genre
Born On: March 17, 1948
Born In: Conway, South Carolina, United States
Age: 75 Years
American-born Canadian novelist William Gibson loves pulling at loose cultural threads to reveal novel concepts lying underneath it. An essayist, speculative fiction writer and novelist, Gibson is credited for pioneering the era of science fiction that earned him the title of 'cyberpunk'. Gibson began his writing career in 70s. Most of his works revolve around near-future stories, noir, the internet and how it would filter down to the lowest social strata. He has a crystal-clear opinion about the effect of computer networks, technology and cybernetics on humans. Needless to say, he has been right for most of the part. The Sprawl Trilogy, comprising of 'Neuromancer', 'Count Zero' and 'Mona Lisa Overdrive' is Gibson's vibrantly imagined allegory for the emerging new world. In this version, he planted the first seeds of globalised wealth disparity and technological rebellion that eventually transformed into a reality.Other than renovating scientific literature, Gibson is well-known for popularizing the concept of cyberspace through his works. The Bridge Triology, comprising of Virtual Light, Idoru and All Tomorrow's Parties focus on sociological development, late capitalism and post-industrial society following the events of 9/11 in America. Gibson fans, who've read Spook Country, Pattern Recognition and Zero History have termed him the mainstream bestseller of all times. As one of the most widely read sci-fi authors, William Gibson quotes are always bound to leave a lasting impression on us. In this list of his most popular quotes, In this short list, we've made a selection that will leave you speechless and ponder. Here are some mind-blowing quotes and sayings by William Gibson.
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The future is there... looking back at us. Trying to make sense of the fiction we will have become.

The future is there... looking back at us. Trying to make sense of the fiction we will have become.

William Gibson
The future is already here – it's just not evenly distributed.

The Economist, December 4, 2003

The future is already here – it's just not evenly distributed. The Economist, December 4, 2003

William Gibson
The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.

The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.

William Gibson
When you want to know how things really work, study them when they're coming apart.

When you want to know how things really work, study them when they're coming apart.

William Gibson
Time moves in one direction, memory another. We are that strange species that constructs artifacts intended to counter the natural flow of forgetting.

Time moves in one direction, memory another. We are that strange species that constructs artifacts intended to counter the natural flow of forgetting.

William Gibson
I think I'd probably tell you that it's easier to desire and pursue the attention of tens of millions of total strangers than it is to accept the love and loyalty of the people closest to us.

I think I'd probably tell you that it's easier to desire and pursue the attention of tens of millions of total strangers than it is to accept the love and loyalty of the people closest to us.

William Gibson
The street finds its own uses for things.

The street finds its own uses for things.

William Gibson
Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes.

Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes.

William Gibson
And, for an instant, she stared directly into those soft blue eyes and knew, with an instinctive mammalian certainty, that the exceedingly rich were no longer even remotely human.

And, for an instant, she stared directly into those soft blue eyes and knew, with an instinctive mammalian certainty, that the exceedingly rich were no longer even remotely human.

William Gibson
We see in order to move; we move in order to see.

We see in order to move; we move in order to see.

William Gibson
Stand high long enough and your lightning will come.

Stand high long enough and your lightning will come.

William Gibson
The 'Net is a waste of time, and that's exactly what's right about it.

The 'Net is a waste of time, and that's exactly what's right about it.

William Gibson
He took a duck in the face at 250 knots.

He took a duck in the face at 250 knots.

William Gibson
We have no future because our present is too volatile. We have only risk management. The spinning of the given moment's scenarios. Pattern recognition.

We have no future because our present is too volatile. We have only risk management. The spinning of the given moment's scenarios. Pattern recognition.

William Gibson
Secrets...are the very root of cool.

Secrets...are the very root of cool.

William Gibson
All the speed he took, all the turns he'd taken and the corners he'd cut in Night City, and still he'd see the matrix in his sleep, bright lattices of logic unfolding across that colorless void...

All the speed he took, all the turns he'd taken and the corners he'd cut in Night City, and still he'd see the matrix in his sleep, bright lattices of logic unfolding across that colorless void...

William Gibson
Time is money, but also money is money.

Time is money, but also money is money.

William Gibson
The present tense made him nervous.

The present tense made him nervous.

William Gibson
Things aren't different. Things are things.

Things aren't different. Things are things.

William Gibson
His eyes were eggs of unstable crystal, vibrating with a frequency whose name was rain and the sound of trains, suddenly sprouting a humming forest of hair-fine glass spines.

His eyes were eggs of unstable crystal, vibrating with a frequency whose name was rain and the sound of trains, suddenly sprouting a humming forest of hair-fine glass spines.

William Gibson
There must be some Tommy Hilfiger event horizon, beyond which it is impossible to be more derivative, more removed from the source, more devoid of soul.

There must be some Tommy Hilfiger event horizon, beyond which it is impossible to be more derivative, more removed from the source, more devoid of soul.

William Gibson
She walked on, comforted by the surf, by the one perpetual moment of beach-time, the now-and-always of it.

She walked on, comforted by the surf, by the one perpetual moment of beach-time, the now-and-always of it.

William Gibson
To present a whole world that doesn’t exist and make it seem real, we have to more or less pretend we’re polymaths. That’s just the act of all good writing.

To present a whole world that doesn’t exist and make it seem real, we have to more or less pretend we’re polymaths. That’s just the act of all good writing.

William Gibson
´Wonderful´, the Flatline said,´I never did like to do anything simple when I could do it ass-backwards.´

´Wonderful´, the Flatline said,´I never did like to do anything simple when I could do it ass-backwards.´

William Gibson
Hell of a world we live in, huh? (...) But it could be worse, huh?

Hell of a world we live in, huh? (...) But it could be worse, huh?" "That's right," I said, "or even worse, it could be perfect.

William Gibson
Laney had recently noticed that the only people who had titles that clearly described their jobs had jobs he wouldn't have wanted.

Laney had recently noticed that the only people who had titles that clearly described their jobs had jobs he wouldn't have wanted.

William Gibson
Some very considerable part of the gestural language of public places that had once belonged to cigarettes now belonged to phones.

Some very considerable part of the gestural language of public places that had once belonged to cigarettes now belonged to phones.

William Gibson
You needed a new pancreas. The one we bought for you frees you from a dangerous dependency.” “Thanks, but I was enjoying that dependency.

You needed a new pancreas. The one we bought for you frees you from a dangerous dependency.” “Thanks, but I was enjoying that dependency.

William Gibson
I took Punk to be the detonation of some slow-fused projectile buried deep in society's flank a decade earlier, and I took it to be, somehow, a sign.

I took Punk to be the detonation of some slow-fused projectile buried deep in society's flank a decade earlier, and I took it to be, somehow, a sign.

William Gibson
Friday, August 04, 2006
MONUMENT
posted 8:31 AM

Silver nitrous girls pointed into occult winds of porn and destiny.

Friday, August 04, 2006 MONUMENT posted 8:31 AM Silver nitrous girls pointed into occult winds of porn and destiny.

William Gibson
We monitor many frequencies. We listen always. Came a voice, out of the babel of tongues, speaking to us. It played us a mighty dub.

We monitor many frequencies. We listen always. Came a voice, out of the babel of tongues, speaking to us. It played us a mighty dub.

William Gibson
Five hours' New York jet lag and Cayce Pollard wakes in Camden Town to the dire and ever-circling wolves of disrupted circadian rhythm.

Five hours' New York jet lag and Cayce Pollard wakes in Camden Town to the dire and ever-circling wolves of disrupted circadian rhythm.

William Gibson
Damien is a friend.
Their boy-girl Lego doesn't click, he would say.

Damien is a friend. Their boy-girl Lego doesn't click, he would say.

William Gibson
Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation.

Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation.

William Gibson
Time moves in one direction, memory in another.

Time moves in one direction, memory in another.

William Gibson
Lost, so small amid that dark, hands grown cold, body image fading down corridors of television sky.

Lost, so small amid that dark, hands grown cold, body image fading down corridors of television sky.

William Gibson
It was hot, the night we burned Chrome.

It was hot, the night we burned Chrome.

William Gibson
That's something that tends to happen with new technologies generally: The most interesting applications turn up on a battlefield, or in a gallery.

That's something that tends to happen with new technologies generally: The most interesting applications turn up on a battlefield, or in a gallery.

William Gibson
Fiction is an illusion wrought with many small, conventionally symbolic marks, triggering visions in the minds of others

Fiction is an illusion wrought with many small, conventionally symbolic marks, triggering visions in the minds of others

William Gibson
Somewhere, deep within her, surfaces a tiny clockwork submarine. There are times when you can only take the next step. And then another.

Somewhere, deep within her, surfaces a tiny clockwork submarine. There are times when you can only take the next step. And then another.

William Gibson
His teeth sang in their individual sockets like tuning forks, each one pitch-perfect and clear as ethanol.

His teeth sang in their individual sockets like tuning forks, each one pitch-perfect and clear as ethanol.

William Gibson
Canadian cities looked the way American cities did on television.

Canadian cities looked the way American cities did on television.

William Gibson
My first impulse, when presented with any spanking-new piece of computer hardware, is to imagine how it will look in ten years’ time, gathering dust under a card table in a thrift shop.

My first impulse, when presented with any spanking-new piece of computer hardware, is to imagine how it will look in ten years’ time, gathering dust under a card table in a thrift shop.

William Gibson
Because people who couldn’t imagine themselves capable of evil were at a major disadvantage in dealing with people who didn’t need to imagine, because they already were.

Because people who couldn’t imagine themselves capable of evil were at a major disadvantage in dealing with people who didn’t need to imagine, because they already were.

William Gibson
His smile was the nightmare in my back pocket.(Speaking about Ronald Reagan)

His smile was the nightmare in my back pocket.(Speaking about Ronald Reagan)

William Gibson
Reading, his therapist had suggested, had likely been his first drug.

Reading, his therapist had suggested, had likely been his first drug.

William Gibson
Three in the morning.
Making yourself a cup of coffee in the dark, using a flashlight when you pour the boiling water.

Three in the morning. Making yourself a cup of coffee in the dark, using a flashlight when you pour the boiling water.

William Gibson
We have sealed ourselves away behind our money, growing inward, generating a seamless universe of self.

We have sealed ourselves away behind our money, growing inward, generating a seamless universe of self.

William Gibson
When the past is always with you, it may as well be present; and if it is present, it will be future as well.

When the past is always with you, it may as well be present; and if it is present, it will be future as well.

William Gibson
Night City was like a deranged experiment in social Dar- 
winism, designed by a bored researcher who kept one thumb 
permanently on the fast-forward button.

Night City was like a deranged experiment in social Dar- winism, designed by a bored researcher who kept one thumb permanently on the fast-forward button.

William Gibson
If you knew enough Greek, she thought, you could assemble a word that meant divination via the pattern of grease left on a paper plate by broasted potatoes. But it would be a long word.

If you knew enough Greek, she thought, you could assemble a word that meant divination via the pattern of grease left on a paper plate by broasted potatoes. But it would be a long word.

William Gibson
Rain woke him, a slow drizzle, his feet tangled in coils of discarded fiberoptics. The arcade's sea of sound washed over him, receded, returned. Rolling over, he sat up and held his head.

Rain woke him, a slow drizzle, his feet tangled in coils of discarded fiberoptics. The arcade's sea of sound washed over him, receded, returned. Rolling over, he sat up and held his head.

William Gibson
Don't let the little fuckers generation gap you.

Don't let the little fuckers generation gap you.

William Gibson
And don't forget to water the fuckin' goldfish.

And don't forget to water the fuckin' goldfish.

William Gibson
You are exhibiting symptoms of urban singles angst. There are cures for this. Drink up. Go.

You are exhibiting symptoms of urban singles angst. There are cures for this. Drink up. Go.

William Gibson
Language is to the mind more than light is to the eye.

Language is to the mind more than light is to the eye.

William Gibson
Be quiet, darling. Let pattern recognition have its way.

Be quiet, darling. Let pattern recognition have its way.

William Gibson
Zona spat a stream of Spanish that overwhelmed translation, a long and liquid curse.

Zona spat a stream of Spanish that overwhelmed translation, a long and liquid curse.

William Gibson
Maelcum a rude boy,

Maelcum a rude boy," said the other, "an' a righteous tug pilot.

William Gibson
The faces he woke up with in the worlds hotels were like God's own hood ornaments. Women's sleeping faces, identical and alone, naked, aimed straight out to the void.

The faces he woke up with in the worlds hotels were like God's own hood ornaments. Women's sleeping faces, identical and alone, naked, aimed straight out to the void.

William Gibson
I'm away for a while. But there's no cash on the premises, no drugs, and the pitbull's tested positive. Twice.

I'm away for a while. But there's no cash on the premises, no drugs, and the pitbull's tested positive. Twice.

William Gibson
Case fell into the prison of his own flesh.

Case fell into the prison of his own flesh.

William Gibson
His nostrils were permanently flared, as though he sniffed invisible winds of art and commerce.

His nostrils were permanently flared, as though he sniffed invisible winds of art and commerce.

William Gibson
INTO HER DARKNESS, a churning synaesthesia, where her pain was the taste of old iron, scent of melon, wings of a moth brushing her cheek. She was unconscious, and he was barred from her dreams.

INTO HER DARKNESS, a churning synaesthesia, where her pain was the taste of old iron, scent of melon, wings of a moth brushing her cheek. She was unconscious, and he was barred from her dreams.

William Gibson
Laney felt the pills he'd taken, the ones that were supposed to cushion the jet lag, drop out from under him like some kind of rotten pharmacological scaffolding.

Laney felt the pills he'd taken, the ones that were supposed to cushion the jet lag, drop out from under him like some kind of rotten pharmacological scaffolding.

William Gibson
When you raise the dead, they bring their baggage.

When you raise the dead, they bring their baggage.

William Gibson
Conspiracy theory's got to be simple. Sense doesn't come into it. People are more scared of how complicated shit actually is than they ever are about whatever's supposed to be behind the conspiracy.

Conspiracy theory's got to be simple. Sense doesn't come into it. People are more scared of how complicated shit actually is than they ever are about whatever's supposed to be behind the conspiracy.

William Gibson
You need to learn to overcome your very natural and appropriate revulsion for your own work

You need to learn to overcome your very natural and appropriate revulsion for your own work

William Gibson
Zion smelled of cooked vegetables, humanity, and ganja.

Zion smelled of cooked vegetables, humanity, and ganja.

William Gibson
It was the root of street cool, too, the knowing posture that implied connection, invisible lines up to the hidden levels of influence.

It was the root of street cool, too, the knowing posture that implied connection, invisible lines up to the hidden levels of influence.

William Gibson
In Heathrow a vast chunk of memory detached itself from a blank bowl of airport sky and fell on him. He vomited into a blue plastic canister without breaking stride.

In Heathrow a vast chunk of memory detached itself from a blank bowl of airport sky and fell on him. He vomited into a blue plastic canister without breaking stride.

William Gibson
Otherwise, he'd have found the ruin empty, and then, somehow, very quietly and almost naturally, he would have died.

Otherwise, he'd have found the ruin empty, and then, somehow, very quietly and almost naturally, he would have died.

William Gibson
All fiction, whether straight or genre, whether literature or Literature, is a personal reinterpretation of its writers’ existence during the time the fiction was written.

All fiction, whether straight or genre, whether literature or Literature, is a personal reinterpretation of its writers’ existence during the time the fiction was written.

William Gibson
Even the delusionally paranoid have enemies.

Even the delusionally paranoid have enemies.

William Gibson
Stability is the beginning of the end. We only walk by continually beginning to fall forward.

Stability is the beginning of the end. We only walk by continually beginning to fall forward.

William Gibson
A middleman’s business is to make himself a necessary evil.

A middleman’s business is to make himself a necessary evil.

William Gibson
Fables from before the Anaheiming.

Fables from before the Anaheiming.

William Gibson
And somewhere he was laughing, in a white-painted loft, distant fingers caressing the deck, tears of release streaking his face.

And somewhere he was laughing, in a white-painted loft, distant fingers caressing the deck, tears of release streaking his face.

William Gibson
Was it Laurie Anderson who said that VR would never look real until they learned how to put some dirt in it?

Was it Laurie Anderson who said that VR would never look real until they learned how to put some dirt in it?

William Gibson
She's right, Kate's right, I'm right and you're wrong. If you drive her away from here it will be over my dead— chair, has it never occurred to you at on one occasion you might be consummately wrong?

She's right, Kate's right, I'm right and you're wrong. If you drive her away from here it will be over my dead— chair, has it never occurred to you at on one occasion you might be consummately wrong?

William Gibson
Honey,” Jammer said, “you’ll learn. Some things you teach yourself to remember to forget.

Honey,” Jammer said, “you’ll learn. Some things you teach yourself to remember to forget.

William Gibson
Bevor man bei Sich eine Depression oder geringes Selbstwertgefühl diagnostiziert...
sollte man sicher gehen, dass man nicht nur von Arschlöchern umgeben ist.

Bevor man bei Sich eine Depression oder geringes Selbstwertgefühl diagnostiziert... sollte man sicher gehen, dass man nicht nur von Arschlöchern umgeben ist.

William Gibson
Seated each afternoon in the darkened screening room, Halliday came to recognise the targeted numerals of the Academy leader as sigils preceding the dream state of a film.

Seated each afternoon in the darkened screening room, Halliday came to recognise the targeted numerals of the Academy leader as sigils preceding the dream state of a film.

William Gibson
...destiny spelled out in a constellation of cheap chrome.

...destiny spelled out in a constellation of cheap chrome.

William Gibson
Because he had a good agent, he had a good contract. Because he had a good contract, he was in Singapore an hour after the explosion. Most of him, anyway.

Because he had a good agent, he had a good contract. Because he had a good contract, he was in Singapore an hour after the explosion. Most of him, anyway.

William Gibson
Know what's worse than imaginary, Leon?

Know what's worse than imaginary, Leon?" "What?" "Half-imaginary.

William Gibson
If poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world, science-fiction writers are its court jesters.

If poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world, science-fiction writers are its court jesters.

William Gibson
A chronic malcontent, albeit quite a purposeless one.

A chronic malcontent, albeit quite a purposeless one.

William Gibson
Burgeoning technologies require outlaw zones, that Night City wasn’t there for its inhabitants, but as a deliberately unsupervised playground for technology itself.

Burgeoning technologies require outlaw zones, that Night City wasn’t there for its inhabitants, but as a deliberately unsupervised playground for technology itself.

William Gibson
The world hadn’t ever had so many moving parts or so few labels.

The world hadn’t ever had so many moving parts or so few labels.

William Gibson
THEY ATE LUNCH in a Mexican place called Dirty Is God.

THEY ATE LUNCH in a Mexican place called Dirty Is God.

William Gibson
I am no spy.” “Then start being your own. If Tokyo’s the frying pan, you may just have landed in the fire.

I am no spy.” “Then start being your own. If Tokyo’s the frying pan, you may just have landed in the fire.

William Gibson
Hitler had had entirely too brilliant a graphics department, and had understood the power of branding all too well.

Hitler had had entirely too brilliant a graphics department, and had understood the power of branding all too well.

William Gibson
Fuck it. Just fuck it.

Fuck it. Just fuck it.

William Gibson
Berry,” Pursley said, “you’re in trouble, son. A cop. And an honest one. In trouble. In deep, spectacular, and, please, I have to say this, clearly heroic shit.

Berry,” Pursley said, “you’re in trouble, son. A cop. And an honest one. In trouble. In deep, spectacular, and, please, I have to say this, clearly heroic shit.

William Gibson
She is increasingly of the opinion that worrying about problems doesn't help solve them, but she hasn't really found an alternative yet. Surely you can't just leave them there.

She is increasingly of the opinion that worrying about problems doesn't help solve them, but she hasn't really found an alternative yet. Surely you can't just leave them there.

William Gibson
He robbed a bank in Wichita.

He robbed a bank in Wichita.

William Gibson
It’s like wearing your cock ring to meet the pope, and making sure he sees it.

It’s like wearing your cock ring to meet the pope, and making sure he sees it.

William Gibson
I have already told you of the sickness and confusion that comes with time travelling. —H. G. WELLS

I have already told you of the sickness and confusion that comes with time travelling. —H. G. WELLS

William Gibson
A few stray bits of Lego edged fitfully about among lower strata,

A few stray bits of Lego edged fitfully about among lower strata,

William Gibson