I believe that in every person is a kind of circuit which resonates to intellectual discovery-and the idea is to make that resonance work

But nature is always more subtle, more intricate, more elegant than what we are able to imagine.

A millennium before Europeans were willing to divest themselves of the Biblical idea that the world was a few thousand years old, the Mayans were thinking of millions and the Hindus billions.

Books tap the wisdom of our species -- the greatest minds, the best teachers -- from all over the world and from all our history. And they're patient.

The total number of stars in the Universe is larger than all the grains of sand on all the beaches of the planet Earth.

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

Religions contradict one another-on small matters, such as whether we should put on a hat or take one off on entering a house of worship, or whether we should eat beef and eschew pork or the other way around, all the way to the most central issues, such as whether there are no gods, one God, or many gods.