The Tercentenary Incident (p. 625)
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“Nobody in the government,” said Edwards stubbornly, “seems to care whether we reach the bottom of the matter or not.”
“I’ve already explained that there have been no consequences but good ones. Why stir the mud at the bottom, when the water above is clear?”
— Isaac Asimov
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "“Nobody in the government,” said Edwards stubbornly, “seems to care whether we reach the bottom of the matter or not.”
“I’ve already explained that there have been no consequences but good ones. Why stir the mud at the bottom, when the water above is clear?”" in the context of "The Tercentenary Incident (p. 625)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Isaac Asimov" (Quotes, Short fiction, The Complete Stories, Volume 2 (1992): Page numbers from the hardcover edition, published by Doubleday and the Science Fiction Book Club
See Isaac Asimov's Internet Science Fiction Database page for original publication details )
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov (c. 2 January 1920 – 6 April 1992) was a Russian-born American biochemist who was a prolific writer of both fiction and non-fiction, his works include the Foundation series and I, Robot.
About Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov (c. 2 January 1920 – 6 April 1992) was a Russian-born American biochemist who was a prolific writer of both fiction and non-fiction, his works include the Foundation series and I, Robot.
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