[Kepler] preferred the hard truth to his dearest illusions, and that is the heart of science.

Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.

It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.

The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.

Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.

I don't want to believe. I want to know.

The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence.

The brain is like a muscle. When it is in use we feel very good. Understanding is joyous.

We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.

For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love.

You have to know the past to understand the present.

Anybody who cares about the functioning of democracy should be concerned about the blurring of lines between public and private interests.

Take away our play stations and we are a third world nation.

My favorite driver is always either the bad guy or the underdog.

People don't really want to be happy. They go out of their way to be miserable.

The entirety of the world's knowledge is in your pants right now.

[Who owns the patent on this vaccine?] Well, the people, I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?

To walk on the road is a journey; to sit under the tree is a journey! Everything we do is a journey to somewhere!

I shuddered to think how completely the insane were in the power of their keepers, and how one could weep and plead for release, and all of no avail, if the keepers were so minded.

It is possible that I am dreaming right now and that all of my perceptions are false.

I feel very comfortable shooting music, and I think you can see that.