It is characteristic of all deep human problems that they are not to be approached without some humor and some bewilderment.

The thing that makes me most optimistic is China and India - both of them doing well.

Our thinking is permeated by our historical myths

Science is a human activity, and the best way to understand it is to understand the individual human beings who practise it. Science is an art form and not a philosophical method. The great advances in science usually result from new tools rather than from new doctrines. ... Every time we introduce a new tool, it always leads to new and unexpected discoveries, because Nature's imagination is richer than ours.

In the long run, the only solution I see to the problem of diversity is the expansion of mankind into the universe by means of green technology... Green technology means we do not live in cans but adapt our plants and our animals and ourselves to live wild in the universe as we find it... When life invades a new habitat, she never moves with a single species. She comes with a variety of species, and as soon as she is established, her species spread and diversify further. Our spread through the galaxy will follow her ancient pattern.

So long as you have courage and a sense of humor, it is never too late to start life afresh.

The marketplace judges technologies by their practical effectiveness, by whether they succeed or fail to do the job they are designed to do.