Human beings grew up in forests; we have a natural affinity for them. How lovely a tree is, straining toward the sky.

If you are only skeptical, then no new ideas make it through to you. You become a crotchety old person convinced that nonsense is ruling the world. (There is, of course, much data to support you.) But every now and then, a new idea turns out to be on the mark, valid and wonderful. If you are too much in the habit of being skeptical about everything, you are going to miss or resent it, and either way you will be standing in the way of understanding and progress.

Perhaps the depth of love can be calibrated by the number of different selves that are actively involved in a given relationship.

A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic.

In exchange for freedom of inquiry, scientists are obliged to explain their work.

For a long time the human instinct to understand was thwarted by facile religious explanations.

Science is far from a perfect instrument of knowledge. It's just the best we have.