“It is the obvious which is so difficult to see most of the time. People say 'It's as plain as the nose on your face.' But how much of the nose on your face can you see, unless someone holds a mirror up to you?”

“You see, proteins, as I probably needn't tell you, are immensely complicated groupings of amino acids and certain other specialized compounds, arranged in intricate three-dimensional patterns that are as unstable as sunbeams on a cloudy day. It is this instability that is life, since it is forever changing its position in an effort to maintain its identity--in the manner of a long rod balanced on an acrobat's nose.”

“Saying something is 'too bad' is easy. You say you disapprove, which makes you a nice person, and then you can go about your business and not be interested anymore. It's a lot worse than 'too bad.' It's against everything decent and natural.”

“Of course there are worlds. Millions of them! Every star you see has worlds, and most of those you don't see.”

“You show me someone who can't understand people and I'll show you someone who has built up a false image of himself.”

“Don't you see? It's Galaxy-wide. It's a worship of the past. It's a deterioration - a stagnation!”

“people live and die by nonsense. It's not what is so much as what people think is.”