The impediment to scientific thinking is not, I think, the difficulty of the subject. Complex intellectual feats have been mainstays even of oppressed cultures. Shamans, magicians and theologians are highly skilled in their intricate and arcane arts. No, the impediment is political and hierarchical.

Billions and billions.

How lucky we are to live in this time / the first moment in human history / when we are in fact visiting other worlds

If chimpanzees have consciousness, if they are capable of abstractions, do they not have what until now has been described as 'human rights'? How smart does a chimp have to be before killing him constitutes murder?

The desire to be connected with the cosmos reflects a profound reality, but we are connected; not in the trivial ways that astrology promises, but in the deepest ways.

The open road still softly calls, like a nearly forgotten song of childhood

Our ancestors lived out of doors. They were as familiar with the night sky as most of us are with our favorite television programs.