It's better to get mugged than to live a life of fear.

Our thinking is permeated by our historical myths

Almost everything about the universe is astounding. I think the most amazing thing is how gifted we are - we are only monkeys who came down from the trees just recently. We have these amazing gifts of music and mathematics and painting and Olympic running.

The public knows that human beings are fallible. Only people blinded by ideology fall into the trap of believing in their own infallibility.

Humanity looks to me like a magnificent beginning but not the final word.

The world is just - it's wonderful when you look at all the detail. It's just amazing. Nothing is boring if you look at it carefully.

Most of what we see in the universe is dust.