Scientists expect to be improved on and corrected; they hope to be

Uncertainty that comes from knowledge (knowing what you don't know) is different from uncertainty coming from ignorance.

The Bible contains legendary, historical, and ethical contents. It is quite possible to consider them separately, and one doesn't have to accept the legends in order to get the ethics. Fundamentalists make a grave mistake to insist on the letter of the writings, because they drive away many who can't swallow the Adam-and-Eve bit.

A scientist is as weak and human as any man, but the pursuit of science may ennoble him even against his will.

My feeling is that as far as creativity is concerned, isolation is required. Creation is embarrassing. For every new good idea you have, there are a hundred, ten thousand foolish ones.

The appearance of strength is all about you. It would seem to last forever. However... the rotten tree-trunk, until the very moment when the storm-blast breaks it in two, has all the appearance of might it ever had. The storm-blast whistles through the branches of the Empire even now. Listen... and you will hear the creaking.

Intelligence is an accident of evolution, and not necessarily an advantage.