The Day of the Triffids

by John Wyndham

‘Man remains physically adaptable to a remarkable degree. But it is the custom of each community to form the minds of its young in a mould, introducing a binding agent of prejudice. The result is a remarkably tough substance capable of withstanding successfully even the pressure of many innate tendencies and instincts. In this way it has been possible to produce a man who against all his basic sense of self-preservation will voluntarily risk death for an ideal – but also in this way is produced the dolt who is sure of everything and knows what is “right”.