The proof of evolution lies in those adaptations that arise from improbable foundations.

I dreamed of becoming a scientist, in general, and a paleontologist, in particular, ever since the Tyrannosaurus skeleton awed and scared me.

If I have any insight at all to contribute it is this: find out what you are really good at and stick to it.

The myriad valleys could have arisen anywhere on the landscape. The current positions are quite accidental. If we could repeat the experiment, we might obtain no valleys at all, or a completely different system. Yet we now stand at the shore line contemplating the fine spacing of valleys and their even contact with the sea. How easy it is to be misled and to assume that no other landscape could possibly have arisen.

What you see is that the most outstanding feature of life's history is a constant domination by bacteria.

The fundamentalists, by 'knowing' the answers before they start, and then forcing nature into the straitjacket of their discredited preconceptions, lie outside the domain of science - or any honest intellectual inquiry.

If genius has any common denominator, I would propose breadth of interest and the ability to construct fruitful analogies between fields.