To me, mathematics is like playing the violin. Some people can do it - others can't. If you don't have it, then there's no point in pretending.

We have no reason to think that climate change is harmful if you look at the world as a whole. Most places, in fact, are better off being warmer than being colder. And historically, the really bad times for the environment and for people have been the cold periods rather than the warm periods.

The public has a distorted view of science because children are taught in school that science is a collection of firmly established truths. In fact, science is not a collection of truths. It is a continuing exploration of mysteries.

The fundamental reason why carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is critically important to biology is that there is so little of it. A field of corn growing in full sunlight in the middle of the day uses up all the carbon dioxide within a meter of the ground in about five minutes. If the air were not constantly stirred by convection currents and winds, the corn would stop growing.

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

For any speculation which does not at first glance look crazy, there is no hope.

A model is such a fascinating toy that you fall in love with your creation.