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

Science is a way of thinking that helps you not to fool yourself.

We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.

My deeply held belief is that if a god of anything like the traditional sort exists, our curiosity and intelligence are provided by such a god. We would be unappreciative of those gifts (as well as unable to take such a course of action) if we suppressed our passion to explore the universe and ourselves. On the other hand, if such a traditional god does not exist, our curiosity and our intelligence are the essential tools for managing our survival. In either case, the enterprise of knowledge is consistent with both science and religion, and is essential for the welfare of the human species.

[Kepler] preferred the hard truth to his dearest illusions, and that is the heart of science.

Nevertheless, (Jefferson) believed that the habit of skepticism is an essential prerequisite for responsible citizenship. He argued that the cost of education is trivial compared to the cost of ignorance, of leaving government to the wolves. He taught that the country is safe only when the people rule.

When permitted to listen to alternative opinions and engage in substantive debate, people have been known to change their minds. It can happen.