Geis lowered his eyes. “You weren’t always so cynical about love.”
“As they say; ignorance pays.”" - Meaning and context.">
Chapter 1 “Overture” (p. 15)

“No, Geis, it doesn’t wear off. Like certain exotic diseases, and unlike love, synchroneurobonding is for life.”
Geis lowered his eyes. “You weren’t always so cynical about love.”
“As they say; ignorance pays.”

— Iain Banks

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "“No, Geis, it doesn’t wear off. Like certain exotic diseases, and unlike love, synchroneurobonding is for life.”
Geis lowered his eyes. “You weren’t always so cynical about love.”
“As they say; ignorance pays.”" in the context of "Chapter 1 “Overture” (p. 15)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Iain Banks" (Quotes, Non-Culture Novels, Against a Dark Background (1993): All page numbers are from the trade paperback edition published by Orbit, , in 1995 All italics and ellipses as in the book, unless otherwise noted ) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Iain Banks

About Iain Banks

Iain Menzies Banks (February 16, 1954 – June 9, 2013), officially Iain Banks, was a Scottish writer. As Iain M. Banks he wrote science fiction; as Iain Banks he wrote literary fiction.