Nobody who says, ‘I told you so’ has ever been, or will ever be, a hero.

The line contrasts two moral postures: the self-justifying satisfaction of being proven right (“I told you so”) versus the outward-facing courage associated with heroism. Le Guin implies that heroism is measured less by predictive correctness than by generosity, responsibility, and willingness to act without needing vindication. The phrase “I told you so” signals a desire to score points, assign blame, or elevate oneself over others after the fact—an attitude that fractures solidarity and forecloses learning. In Le Guin’s ethical imagination, the heroic response to error or disaster is not triumphalism but care, humility, and constructive action, especially when others are vulnerable.