The fact is that people would rather cling when they're afraid of something to a priori beliefs than rather open their minds about it.

In 5 billion years, the expansion of the universe will have progressed to the point where all other galaxies will have receded beyond detection.

What science is all about is a process. It's like saying, "Well, is it important for people to know that World War II happened?" Well it's part of what makes us who we are. And so, there's basic bits of science we need to know.

The ultimate arbiter of truth is experiment, not the comfort one derives from one's a priori beliefs, nor the beauty or elegance one ascribes to one's theoretical models.

Teaching and writing, to me, is really just seduction; you go to where people are and you find something that they're interested in and you try and use that to convince them that they should be interested in what you have to say.

Keeping religion immune from criticism is both unwarranted and dangerous.

A truly open mind means forcing our imaginations to conform to the evidence of reality, and not vice versa.