A faith that cannot survive collision with the truth is not worth many regrets.

Space can be mapped and crossed and occupied without definable limit; but it can never be conquered.

Then he [The Star Child] waited, marshaling his thoughts and brooding over his still untested powers. For though he was master of the world, he was not quite sure what to do next. But he would think of something.

My favorite definition of an intellectual: 'Someone who has been educated beyond his/her intelligence'.

It is a good principle in science not to believe any 'fact'---however well attested---until it fits into some accepted frame of reference. Occasionally, of course, an observation can shatter the frame and force the construction of a new one, but that is extremely rare. Galileos and Einsteins seldom appear more than once per century, which is just as well for the equanimity of mankind.

Politicians should read science fiction, not westerns and detective stories.

One theory which can no longer be taken very seriously is that UFOs are interstellar spaceships.