“We all need new ideas, images, and experiences far more than we need new stoves or cars or computers.”

“Above me, wind does its bestto blow leaves offthe aspen tree a month too soon.No use wind. All you succeedin doing is making music, the noiseof failure growing beautiful.”

“We're keeping our ears alert for any sudden thumps in undusted corners.”

“You must sit down to speak this language,It is so heavy you can't be polite or chatter in it.For once you have begun a sentence, the whole course of your life is laid out before you"-quoted in "The Geography of Bliss”

“The question, then, is not about changing people; it's about reaching people. I'm not speaking simply of better information, a sharper and clearer factual presentation to disperse the thick fogs generated by today's spin machines. Of course, we always need stronger empirical arguments to back up our case. It would certainly help if at least as many people who believe, say, in a "literal devil" or that God sent George W. Bush to the White House also knew that the top 1 percent of households now have more wealth than the bottom 90 percent combined. Yes, people need more information than they get from the media conglomerates with their obsession for nonsense, violence and pap. And we need, as we keep hearing, "new ideas." But we are at an extraordinary moment. The conservative movement stands intellectually and morally bankrupt while Democrats talk about a "new direction" without convincing us they know the difference between a weather vane and a compass. The right story will set our course for a generation to come.”

“DNA is like a computer program but far, far more advanced than any software ever created.”

“Preconceived ideas are very hard to undo, it is much better to know nothing at all when meeting someone new.”