A child from the age of 2 or 3 absorbs what is in the environment and what generates hatred for anyone perceived to be different.

I tell young people: Do not think of yourself, think of others. Think of the future that awaits you, think about what you can do and do not fear anything.

If I had not been discriminated against or had not suffered persecution, I would never have received the Nobel Prize.

The process for awarding Nobel prizes is so complex that it cannot be corrupted.

At 20, I realized that I could not possibly adjust to a feminine role as conceived by my father and asked him permission to engage in a professional career. In eight months I filled my gaps in Latin, Greek and mathematics, graduated from high school, and entered medical school in Turin.

It is imperfection - not perfection - that is the end result of the program written into that formidably complex engine that is the human brain, and of the influences exerted upon us by the environment and whoever takes care of us during the long years of our physical, psychological and intellectual development.

If I die tomorrow or in a year, it is the same — it is the message you leave behind you that counts.