Humans are, by nature, pattern-seeking, storytelling animals, and we are quite adept at telling stories about patterns whether they exist or not.

Science is not a thing. It's a verb. It's a way of thinking about things. It's a way of looking for natural explanations for all phenomena.

The recent medical controversy over whether vaccinations cause autism reveals a habit of human cognition — thinking anecdotally comes naturally, whereas thinking scientifically does not.

Smart people believe weird things because they are skilled at defending beliefs they arrived at for non-smart reasons.

I’m a skeptic not because I do not want to believe, but because I want to know. How can we tell the difference between what we would like to be true and what is actually true? The answer is science.

Religious faith depends on a host of social, psychological and emotional factors that have little or nothing to do with probabilities, evidence and logic.

But the power of science lies in open publication, which, with the rise of the Internet, is no longer constrained by the price of paper.

I’m a skeptic not because I do not want to believe, but because I want to know.

In comparison, Google is brilliant because it uses an algorithm that ranks Web pages by the number of links to them, with those links themselves valued by the number of links to their page of origin.

Either the soul survives death or it does not, and there is no scientific evidence that it does.

Human history is highly nonlinear and unpredictable.

Too many cold, hungry nights had taught her a special kind of practicality, but in that moment, she believed in his magic.

Every generation is inculcated in traditions of prejudice which are encouraged as normal, natural and healthy.

It is certain that if you would have the whole secret of a people, you must enter into the intimacy of their religion.

Each mental act opens up a new dimension of actuality. In a manner of speaking, your slightest thought gives birth to worlds.

You always get what you unconsciously believe and expect.

I think it's absolutely a blessing when you just know what your purpose is and your destiny. I don't think it's a curse at all.

Fish cannot drown in water. Birds cannot sink in air. This has God given to all creatures, to foster and seek their own nature. How then can I withstand mine?

I want to be young for the longest time possible.

A pencil and rubber are of more use to thought than a battalion of assistants. To happiness the same applies as to truth: one does not have it, but is in it.

We are best friends. Always remember that if you fall, I will pick you up. after I finish laughing.