We have lived in a world where the discoveries of physics and genetics are far more awe-inspiring, as well as infinitely more liberating, than the claims of any religion.

If religious instruction were not allowed until the child had attained the age of reason, we would be living in a quite different world.

Islamophobia: a word created by fascists, and used by cowards, to manipulate morons.

Religion is poison because it asks us to give up our most precious faculty, which is that of reason, and to believe things without evidence. It then asks us to respect this, which it calls faith.

Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. Seek out argument and disputation for their own sake; the grave will supply plenty of time for silence.

Human beings are pattern-seeking animals who will prefer even a bad theory or a conspiracy theory to no theory at all.

I learned that very often the most intolerant and narrow-minded people are the ones who congratulate themselves on their tolerance and open-mindedness.

High moral character is not a precondition for great moral accomplishments.

What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.

Why do humans exist? A major part of the answer: because Pikaia Gracilens survived the Burgess decimation.

The only real radicalism in our time will come as it always has—from people who insist on thinking for themselves and who reject party-mindedness.

Freedom is in gratification not in ownership

In truth, the only restrictions on our capacity to astonish ourselves and each other are imposed by our own minds.

My dad is a writer, and to see him always in front of a typewriter gave me the inspiration to write. He was my idol, my hero. I wanted to be just like him.

That's all I want, to keep losing myself.

The whole growing-up process seems to have eluded me

Cherish your visions and your dreams, as they are the children of your soul; the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.

Life is exponential. Two becomes four, becomes ten thousand, becomes a plague.

One of the best skills of an entrepreneur is the ability to question. By asking new questions, new answers are found.

Nobody wants to disappoint the boss and get fired. But if the boss hasn't said this is important, it's going to die a slow death in bureaucracy and that explains a lot of the problems.

If you don't think baseball is a big deal, don't do it. But if you do, do it right.