Risk is the sort of word that is easy to discuss upfront but tough to handle when it comes time to pay the piper. There will always be some who wimp out and second-guess when the pain hits, but that is a childish reaction.

An efficient government is dangerous in the hands of the wrong man. Sadly, the right sort of man never seems interested in the job.

When we first did 'Modernist Cuisine,' I think most people in cookbook publishing would have said, 'This is insane.'

The ever-growing size of software applications is what makes Moore's Law possible: 'If we hadn't brought your computer to its knees, why would you go out and buy a new one?'

If I want popularity, I go to a chef's convention.

One of the ugly secrets of the renewable-energy industry is that its products make no economic sense unless they are highly subsidized.

Ultimately, my Ph.D. is in mathematical physics, focusing on quantum field theory and curved space-time, and I worked with Stephen Hawking.