To my mind, the only possible pet is a cow. Cows love you. They will listen to your problems and never ask a thing in return. They will be your friends forever. And when you get tired of them, you can kill and eat them. Perfect.

There is no such thing, incidentally, as one kudo.

Human beings would split the atom and invent television, nylon, and instant coffee before they could figure out the age of their own planet.

When I was growing up I used to think that the best thing about coming from Des Moines was that it meant you didn't come from anywhere else in Iowa. By Iowa standards, Des Moines is a mecca of cosmopolitanism, a dynamic hub of wealth and education, where people wear three-piece suits and dark socks, often simultaneously.

If you go out on the Appalachian Trail, you have to bring so much more equipment - a tent, sleeping bag - but if you go hiking in England, or Europe, generally, towns and villages are near enough together at the end of the day you can always go to a nice little inn and have a hot bath and something to drink.

I really enjoy going to a library and spending the day doing research - to me that is the most pleasurable part of writing the science book.

America is a great disappointment to me. As I said in one of my books, other societies create civilisations; we build shopping malls.