I don’t like anything that’s got to be. I want to know why.

Maybe happiness is this: not feeling like you should be elsewhere, doing something else, being someone else.

Experimentation is the least arrogant method of gaining knowledge. The experimenter humbly asks a question of nature.

I'm an indoors person. I'm not afraid of the outdoors and I penetrate it easily and cheerfully. However, I must admit I like Central Park better than the wilderness, and I like the canyons of Manhattan better than Central Park, and I like the interior of my apartment better than the canyons of Manhattan, and I like my two rooms better with the shades down at all times than with the shades up. I'm not an agoraphobe at all, but I am a claustrophile, if you see the distinction.

A subtle thought that is in error may yet give rise to fruitful inquiry that can establish truths of great value.

You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you're working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success - but only if you persist.

Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is.