The target of power is more interesting than its quantity..

The relationship between science and the humanities is two-way. Science changes our view of the world and our place in it. In the other direction, th….

I picked such seemingly disparate essays, I thought it was important to say what was the guiding principle in the selection rather than focus on any ….

My writings are an exploration, and I think a lot of writers would tell you this, but in writing, you're not simply putting down things that are alre….

The tragedy of this world is that no one is happy, whether stuck in atime of pain or of joy. The tragedy of this world is that everyone is alone. For….

I have no opposition at all to technology. I think technology is a wonderful thing that has to be used thoughtfully, and we can't just assume that ev….

A life is a moment in season. A life is one snowfall. A life is one autumn day. A life is the delicate, rapid edge of a closing door's shadow. A life….

I think people all over the institution recognize that different ways of understanding are valuable. Artists may think in a different way than biolog….

Another strand of my writing is the importance of the idea. If you think about fiction writing as a spectrum, where at one end of the spectrum in the….

I should have written books instead of reading them..

I am spellbound by the plays of Shakespeare. And I am spellbound by the second law of thermodynamics. The great ideas in science, like the Cro-Magnon….

Such is the cost of immortality. No person is whole. No person is free. Over time, some have determined that the only way to live is to die. In death….

Despite our strongly felt kinship and oneness with nature, all the evidence suggests that nature doesn't care one whit about us. Tornadoes, hurricane….

I would think that you are more fluent with the rational. It has its appeal. But the irrational permits a greater exercise of ... shall we say, power..

So many little lives, amounting to nothing. I ask you: What is infinity multiplied by zero? It is hardly worth our discussion..

Faith is the ability to honor stillness at some moments, and at others to ride the passion and exuberance..

For me, spirituality includes the belief in things larger than ourselves, an appreciation of nature and beauty, a sensitivity to the world, a feeling….

While people brood, time skips ahead without looking back..

As a scientist, I don't believe science will ever discover whether God exists. Nor do I believe religion will ever prove it..

I have too many friends who tell me that they spend the first hour of every morning going through their e-mail messages. I'd like to use my time more….

Originality is also very important to a writer. And all of the writers I've mentioned, of course, are original, but it's important to me that every b….