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

Humans - who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals - have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain.

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

Those afraid of the universe as it really is, those who pretend to nonexistent knowledge and envision a Cosmos centered on human beings will prefer the fleeting comforts of superstition.

Too much openness and you accept every notion, idea, and hypothesis-which is tantamount to knowing nothing. Too much skepticism-especially rejection of new ideas before they are adequately tested-and you're not only unpleasantly grumpy, but also closed to the advance of science. A judicious mix is what we need.

Human beings have a demonstrated talent for self-deception when their emotions are stirred.

In all our searching, the only thing we've found that makes the emptiness bearable is each other.