18th century scientists, the French in particular, seldom did things simply if an absurdly demanding alternative was available.

Taxonomy is described sometimes as a science and sometimes as an art, but really it’s a battleground.

What is it about maps? I could look at them all day, earnestly studying the names of towns and villages I have never heard of and will never visit.

English is full of booby traps for the unwary foreigner. Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled.

My first rule of travel is never to go to a place that sounds like a medical condition and Critz is clearly an incurable disease involving flaking skin.

Protons give an atom its identity, electrons its personality.

It's hard not to be kind of pessimistic about human beings generally, because we do tend to mess things up. If you just look at the history of extinctions, we've killed off an awful lot of animals - and I don't think we're doing a very good job of looking after the planet.