I certainly saw science as a kind of calling, and one with as much legitimacy as a religious calling.

I believe I am a person with unusual talents. I think I'd be a liar or stupid if I were to deny that.

I wish I had a talent for dropping things as well as taking on new ones. It gets to be quite a clutter after a while.

I did get a very fine education, and not just in science. It took some pressure on the part of my elders to convince me that I really should take an interest in humanities.

I started on the use of the Internet for scientific communication. Our research group was one of the very first to make really systematic use of it as a way of managing research projects.

Although I am a public figure, I'm still a little shy. I don't think my own personality is important. I prefer to keep some small dosage of privacy.

Try hard to find out what you're good at and what your passions are, and where the two converge, and build your life around that.