DNA was my only gold rush. I regarded DNA as worth a gold rush.

Today, the theory of evolution is an accepted fact for everyone but a fundamentalist minority, whose objections are based not on reasoning but on doctrinaire adherence to religious principles.

Science moves with the spirit of an adventure characterized both by youthful arrogance and by the belief that the truth, once found, would be simple as well as pretty.

Knowing "why" (an idea) is more important than learning "what" (the fact).

It's necessary to be slightly underemployed if you are to do something significant.

No one may have the guts to say this, but if we could make better human beings by knowing how to add genes, why shouldn't we?

We're not all equal, it's simply not true. That isn't science.

Whenever you interview fat people, you feel bad, because you know you're not going to hire them.

Our goal should be to understand our differences.

The way to do great science is to stay away from subjects that are overpopulated, and go to the frontiers.

Never be the brightest person in the room.

Start ignoring people who threaten your joy. Literally, ignore them. Say nothing. Don’t invite any parts of them into your space.

What is even more important than developing intuition is cultivating the sense of adventure and discovery in life.

All I want is the best of everything and there's very little of that left.

I am not an early bird. I go to bed normally between midnight and 1 oclock, so it is understandable that I cannot be an early bird. I wake up around 9 oclock.

The Bible does not provide a map for life - only a compass.

Knowledge without mileage equals bullshit.

For Thanksgiving we have to make a Tofurkey! It doesn't sound right! It's gonna be jiggly and weird.

I'll find something in what I read that snags my imagination in emotional terms; it resonates with me for reasons more complicated than just that it seems like it would make a good story.

I'm a pretty convenient foil for a lot of people.

Money is not the thing that drives me. I like to develop assets to create value. No one cares how rich you are or what your ranking is in Forbes magazine.