If I could explain it to the average person, I wouldn't have been worth the Nobel Prize.

The problem of creating something new, but which is consistent with everything which has been seen before, is one of extreme difficulty.

We decided that 'trivial' means 'proved'. So we joked with the mathematicians: We have a new theorem- that mathematicians can prove only trivial theorems, because every theorem that's proved is trivial.

Science is a way for us to not fool ourselves.

What Do You Care What Other People Think?

Our freedom to doubt was born out of a struggle against authority in the early days of science. It was a very deep and strong struggle: permit us to question - to doubt - to not be sure. I think that it is important that we do not forget this struggle and thus perhaps lose what we have gained.

Have no respect whatsoever for authority; forget who said it and instead look what he starts with, where he ends up, and ask yourself, "Is it reasonable?"