Ted Chiang Quotes

Like physical events with their causal and teleological interpretations, every linguistic event had two possible interpretations: as a transmission of information and as the realization of a plan.

Ted Chiang

The prospect of living without interference, living in a world where windfalls and misfortunes were never by design, held no terror for him.

Ted Chiang

The ray of light has to know where it will ultimately end up before it can choose the direction to begin moving in""Fermat's principle sounds weird because it describes light's behavior in goal-oriented terms. It sounds like a commandment to a light beam: "Thou shalt minimize or maximize the time taken to reach thy destination.

Ted Chiang