Everything you see is filtered through your visual system (imperfect) and your brain (also imperfect, despite what your mom told you). Witness testimony is the worst kind of evidence in science.

If you took all the sand from all the beaches, all the desserts, and all the oceans and called that the Universe, our whole solar system would be less than one grain of sand.

If this is the only planet on which not only life, but intelligent life, has arisen, that would be very unusual.

Our brains are wired to interpret shapes as faces and bodies. That's why people see the Virgin Mary in the clouds or even in cheese sandwiches. It's your cytoplasm, not some strange ectoplasm.

The search for extra-terrestrial life is a failure until that moment when it suddenly becomes a success.

Despite the impression you may have from watching too much TV, movies are not about reproducing reality. Theyre about telling stories.

No heating system can deliver perfectly uniform temperatures throughout a house, and drafts can magnify the perceived difference in temperatures. Try walking around with a thermometer.

If you still believe that aliens would travel hundreds of light years to carve temporary graffiti in our wheat, then your imagination is one of the seven wonders of the world, and should be bronzed.

It bears mentioning that the Milky Way is only one of 150 billion galaxies visible to our telescopes - and each of these will have its own complement of planets.

Typically, only about 2 percent of the American populace tunes in to PBS's 'Nova' series - the most successful science show on the tube. 'Survivor' and 'X Factor' get twice the ratings.

A practical way to travel between the stars is a must-have for space opera, and a sine qua non for our frequently vaunted future as a galactic society.

The more humble and obedient to God a man is, the more wise and at peace he will be in all that he does.

We have no choice. We need the communion of souls and only here are they awake.

I do have a childlike enthusiasm at times. I certainly enjoy life and get pleasure sometimes in childish things.

It's all about guts. I've had so many ups and downs, I'm not scared of being down.

I said I would get better with each baby, and I have.

Look down, not up, when making your initial investment decision. If you don’t lose money, most of the remaining alternatives are good ones.

I think the hardest thing in life is when we see those we love turn down a wrong path, and when no entreaty will induce them to retrace their steps.

My mother was Irish and she was superstitious, if you'll forgive the tautology.

If you want to make the best of yourself you don't necessarily need to diet - you need to wear the right stuff.

When you’re unsure, jump with your eyes closed and legs wide open