There are grounds for cautious optimism that we may now be near the end ofthe search for the ultimate laws of nature.

Maybe I don't have the most common kind of motor neuron disease, which usually kills in two or three years.

Many badly needed goals, like fusion and cancer cure, would be achieved much sooner if we invested more.

The life we have on Earth must have spontaneously generated itself. It must therefore be possible for life to generate spontaneously elsewhere in the universe.

Only time - whatever that may be - will tell.

As those who have seen Jurassic Park will know, this means a tiny disturbance in one place, can cause a major change in another. A butterfly flapping its wings can cause rain in Central Park, New York. The trouble is, it is not repeatable. The next time the butterfly flaps its wings, a host of other things will be different, which will also influence the weather. That is why weather forecasts are so unreliable.

You may see a cup of tea fall off a table and break into pieces on the floor... But you will never see the cup gather itself back together and jump back on the table. The increase of disorder, or entropy, is what distinguishes the past from the future, giving a direction to time.