“Think how much happier the world might be if people sought approval for what they do from their children instead of their ancestors.”

“It is unclear how much longer people will write on dried and flattened wood. Trees do so much for humans and for our planet that it hardly seems fair to ask them to carry our thoughts as well. From "Life from an RNA World: The Ancestor Within.”

“When you say, "I need more confidence," what you're really saying is, "I need those people over there to approve of me."That is the desire to control other people and what they think. The first person who figures out how to do this owns the world.”

“It will certainly show what our ancestors would be thinking if they were alive today. People have often speculated about this. Would they approve of modern society, they ask, would they marvel at present-day achievements? And of course this misses a fundamental point. What our ancestors would really be thinking, if they were alive today, is: "Why is it so dark in here?”

“It is in our power to educate all the children of the world to become a little better as people, a little happier.”

“That’s how it is with infants. The minute the pain’s gone, so are the tears. If more people would do that, the world would be a happier place.”