Civilization is an enormous device for economizing knowledge,.

Civilization is an enormous device for economizing knowledge,.

The short-lived self, teetering on the edge of extinction, is the only thing that can ever really matter.

The short-lived self, teetering on the edge of extinction, is the only thing that can ever really matter.

If we do not believe in ourselves- neither in our efficacy nor in our goodness- the universe is a frightening read more

If we do not believe in ourselves- neither in our efficacy nor in our goodness- the universe is a frightening place.

Violence arises not out of superfluity of power but out of powerlessness.

Violence arises not out of superfluity of power but out of powerlessness.

An empty head is not really empty; it is stuffed with rubbish. Hence the difficulty of forcing anything in to read more

An empty head is not really empty; it is stuffed with rubbish. Hence the difficulty of forcing anything in to an empty head.

Physicists have determined that even the most solid and heavy mass of matter we see is mostly empty space. But read more

Physicists have determined that even the most solid and heavy mass of matter we see is mostly empty space. But at the submicroscopic level, specks of matter scattered through a vast emptiness have such incredible density and weight, and are linked to one another by such powerful forces, that together they produce all the properties of concrete, cast iron and solid rock. In much the same way, specks of knowledge are scattered through a vast emptiness of ignorance, and everything depends upon how solid the individual specks of knowledge are, and on how powerfully linked and coordinated they are with one another.

Every fairly intelligent person is aware that the price of respectability is a muffled soul bent on the trivial and read more

Every fairly intelligent person is aware that the price of respectability is a muffled soul bent on the trivial and the mediocre.

Science does not give us absolute and final certainty. It only gives us assurance within the limits of our mental read more

Science does not give us absolute and final certainty. It only gives us assurance within the limits of our mental abilities and the prevailing state of scientific thought.

A cripple in the right way may beat a racer in the wrong one. Nay, the fleeter and better the read more

A cripple in the right way may beat a racer in the wrong one. Nay, the fleeter and better the racer is, who hath once missed his way, the farther he leaveth it behind.