Scientists make mistakes. Accordingly, it is the job of the scientist to recognize our weakness, to examine the widest range of opinions, to be ruthlessly self-critical. Science is a collective enterprise with the error-correction machinery often running smoothly.

We are made of star-stuff. Our bodies are made of star-stuff. There are pieces of star within us all.

You're capable of such beautiful dreams and such horrible nightmares.

Nothing disturbs me more than the glorification of stupidity.

What's the harm of a little mystification? It sure beats boring statistical analyses.

If all the suns but ours collapsed tonight, how many lifetimes would it take us to realize that we were alone?

There are many hypotheses in physics of almost comparable brillance and elegance that have been rejected because they did not survive such a confrontation with experiment. In my view, the human condition would be greatly improved if such confrontations and willingness to reject hypotheses were a regular part of our social, political, economic, religious and cultural lives.