The universe seems neither benign nor hostile, merely indifferent.

There is a lurking fear that some things are not “meant" to be known, that some inquiries are too dangerous for human beings to make.

Human beings grew up in forests; we have a natural affinity for them. How lovely a tree is, straining toward the sky.

The sacred truth of science is that there are no sacred truths.

Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people who never knew each other, citizens of distant epochs. Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of magic.

The visions we offer our children shape the future.

Our species needs, and deserves, a citizenry with minds wide awake and a basic understanding of how the world works.