We are made of starstuff.

My parents were not scientists. They knew almost nothing about science. But in introducing me simultaneously to skepticism and to wonder, they taught me the two uneasily cohabiting modes of thought that are central to the scientific method.

All of the books in the world contain no more information than is broadcast as video in a single large American city in a single year. Not all bits have equal value.

A celibate clergy is an especially good idea, because it tends to suppress any hereditary propensity toward fanaticism.

Preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

Religions are often state-protected nurseries of pseudoscience, although there's no reason why religions have to play that role. In a way, it's an artefact from times long gone.

There are as many atoms in one molecule of DNA as there are stars in a typical galaxy.