Forget Jesus. The stars died so that you could be here today.
What science is all about is a process. It’s like saying, “Well, is it important for people to know that World War II happened?” Well it’s part of what makes us who we are. And so, there’s basic bits of science we need to know.
Science is not just there for technology. It’s part of what addressing who you are in the universe and understanding your place in the cosmos. Good art, good literature, good music – all of that is for that and science is a part of it.
The fact is that people would rather cling when they’re afraid of something to a priori beliefs than rather open their minds about it.
The ultimate arbiter of truth is experiment, not the comfort one derives from one’s a priori beliefs, nor the beauty or elegance one ascribes to one’s theoretical models.
There is a maxim about the universe which I always tell my students: That which is not explicitly forbidden is guaranteed to occur.
Metaphysical speculation is independent of the physical validity of the Big Bang itself and is irrelevant to our understanding of it.
Lack of comfort means we are on the threshold of new insights.
A truly open mind means forcing our imaginations to conform to the evidence of reality, and not vice versa.
Most people don’t base their morality on religion in spite what they say. If you ask people, “If you didn’t believe in God, would you go out and kill your neighbour?” Most people will say, “No”.
Neutrinos alone, among all the known particles, have ethereal properties that are striking and romantic enough both to have inspired a poem by John Updike and to have sent teams of scientists deep underground for 50 years to build huge science-fiction-like contraptions to unravel their mysteries.
Empirical explorations ultimately change our understanding of which questions are important and fruitful and which are not.
Aside from communications satellites, space is devoid of industry.
I cannot stress often enough that what science is all about is not proving things to be true but proving them to be false.
When a person’s religious beliefs cause him to deny the evidence of science, or for whom public policy morphs into a battle with the devil, shouldn’t that be a subject for discussion and debate?
In 5 billion years, the expansion of the universe will have progressed to the point where all other galaxies will have receded beyond detection.
I can’t prove that God doesn’t exist, but I’d much rather live in a universe without one.
The amazing thing is that every atom in your body came from a star that exploded.
We should provide the meaning of the universe in the meaning of our own lives. So I think science doesn’t necessarily have to get in the way of kind of spiritual fulfillment.
People are interested in science, but they don’t always know they’re interested in science, and so I try to find a way to get them interested.