All my life I have placed great store in civility and good manners, practices I find scarce among the often hard-edged, badly socialized scientists with whom I associate. Tone of voice means a great deal to me in the course of debate. I despise the arrogance and doting self-regard so frequently found among the very bright.

Destroying rainforest for economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal.

People respect nonfiction but they read novels.

Character is in turn the enduring source of virtue. It stands by itself and excites admiration in others. It is not obedience to authority, and while it is often consistent with and reinforced by religious belief, it is not piety.

[The natural world cleans water, pollinates plants and provides pharmaceuticals, among many other gifts.] Thirty trillion dollars worth of services, scot-free to humanity, every year.

Sometimes a concept is baffling not because it is profound but because it is wrong.

All three of the Abrahamic religions were born and nurtured in arid, disturbed environments.