One of the wonders of science is that it is completely universal. It crosses national boundaries with total ease.

The beauty of string theory is the metaphor kind of really comes very close to the reality. The strings of string theory are vibrating the particles, vibrating the forces of nature into existence, those vibrations are sort of like musical notes. So string theory, if it's correct, would be playing out the score of the universe.

...quantum mechanics—the physics of our world—requires that you hold such pedestrian complaints in abeyance.

But if you think about a practical implication of enriching your life and giving you a sense of being part of a larger cosmos and possibly being able to use this [gravitational waves] as a tool in the future maybe to listen not just to black holes colliding, but maybe listen to the big bang itself, those kind of applications may happen in the not too distant future.

Sometimes attaining the deepest familiarity with a question is our best substitute for actually having the answer.

Many different planets are many different distances from their host star; we find ourselves at this distance because if we were closer or farther away, the temperature would be hotter or colder, eliminating liquid water, an essential ingredient for our survival.

I like 'The Simpsons' quite a lot. I love the irreverent character of the whole show. It's great.