Both my parents instilled an interest in science and mathematics.

But every day I go to work I'm making a bet that the universe is simple, symmetric, and aesthetically pleasing — a universe that we humans, with our limited perspective, will someday understand.

Both my parents instilled an interest in science and mathematics.

My name is George Smoot III, and I AM smarter than a fifth-grader.

With something like Chernobyl, the public reaction was Oh, my God, science has really done wrong.

I think we all want to know where we came from and how we fit into the world, but some of us need to know how it all works in great detail.

I played football and ran track in junior high, but by high school I was getting serious about my studies.