One final bit of advice. The next time a senior administrator of the CIA tells you she has a national-security crisis Leave the bullshit in Cambridge.

That is the definition of faith - acceptance of that which we imagine to be true, that which we cannot prove.

I write seven days a week, starting at 4 o'clock in the morning, including Christmas.

What's the matter?'' She immediately started laughin. ''What's the mattter? Everything is the matter! Rocks! Trees! Atoms! Even anteaters! Everything is the matter!

I think one reason my books have found mainstream success is that they're written from a skeptical point of view.

I write slowly. I actually write quickly, but I throw out so much material.

Knowledge is a tool, and like all tools, its impact is in the hands of the user.