The greatest explorer of recent decades is not even human.

If you're scientifically literate, the world looks very different to you, and that understanding empowers you.

I have thoughts every day that are themselves tweets.

Access to science is greater than ever before. There are more vehicles out there that grant the public access to science. Not to mention the Internet.

The problem in society is not kids not knowing science. The problem is adults not knowing science. They outnumber kids 5 to 1, they wield power, they write legislation. When you have scientifically illiterate adults, you have undermined the very fabric of what makes a nation wealthy and strong.

When you innovate, you create new industries that then boost your economy. And when you create new industries and that becomes part of your culture, your jobs can't go overseas because no one else has figured out how to do it yet.

Even with all our technology and the inventions that make modern life so much easier than it once was, it takes just one big natural disaster to wipe all that away and remind us that, here on Earth, we're still at the mercy of nature.