The fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses.
In exchange for freedom of inquiry, scientists are obliged to explain their work.
The universe forces those who live in it to understand it.
The Platonists and their Christian successors held the peculiar notion that the Earth was tainted and somehow nasty, while the heavens were perfect and divine. The fundamental idea that the Earth is a planet, that we are citizens of the Universe, was rejected and forgotten.
Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors.
The politicians and the religious leaders and the weapons scientists have been at it for a long time and they've made a thorough mess of it. I mean, we're in deep trouble.