“The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism.” — William Osler
“Fanaticism consists in redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim.” — George Santayana
Maxwell's equations have had a greater impact on human history than any ten presidents. - Carl Sagan
"The demand for certainty is one which is natural to man, but is nevertheless an intellectual vice." — Bertrand Russell
“Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.” — Thomas Jefferson
“Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it.” — Thomas Paine
“The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth.” — Albert Einstein
"It's clear that there's a rampant dumbing down in progress in which not knowing things is considered a virtue. I don't throw my hands up in despair, but I do try to indicate that it's a very serious problem." - Carl Sagan
“The propagandist's purpose is to make one set of people forget that certain other sets of people are human.” — Aldous Huxley
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” — Arthur C. Clarke
“Those who believe without reason cannot be convinced by reason.” ― James Randi
“If I finish a book a week, I will read only a few thousand books in my lifetime, about a tenth of a percent of the contents of the greatest libraries of our time. The trick is to know which books to read.” ― Carl Sagan
“To surrender to ignorance and call it God has always been premature, and it remains premature today.” ― Isaac Asimov
“Life is but a momentary glimpse of the wonder of this astounding universe, and it is sad to see so many dreaming it away on spiritual fantasy.” ― Carl Sagan
“I look at these images now and I realise that, although as a young man I felt I was out there in the wild experiencing the untouched natural world, it was an illusion. Those forests and plains and seas were already emptying.” — Sir David Attenborough
“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in.” — Alan Alda
“The Universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.” — Neil deGrasse Tyson
“We are liquidating the Earth’s natural capital. We are tearing down the biological library before we have even read the books. No amount of economic growth can compensate for the loss of a self-sustaining biosphere.” — E.O. Wilson
“It is not that I'm so smart. But I stay with the questions much longer.” — Albert Einstein
“The world is not magic, and that is the most magical thing about it.” — Sean Carroll
“Already in 2011 the world was 0.8ºC warmer on average than it was when I was born. That is a speed of change that exceeds any that has happened in the last 10,000 years.” ― Sir David Attenborough
“Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value.” ― Albert Einstein
“In exchange for freedom of inquiry, scientists are obliged to explain their work.” — Carl Sagan
“If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.” ― René Descartes
“The great challenge of the twenty-first century is to raise people everywhere to a decent standard of living while preserving as much of the rest of life as possible.” — Edward O. Wilson
“We can yet make amends, manage our impact and once again become a species in harmony with nature. All we require is the will to do so.” — Sir David Attenborough
This planet is run by crazy people. ... Think what they have to do to get where they are. Their perspective is so narrow, so... brief. A few years. In the best of them, a few decades. They care only about the time they are in power. — Carl Sagan, Contact
“A good world needs knowledge, kindliness, and courage; it does not need a regretful hankering after the past or a fettering of the free intelligence by the words uttered long ago by ignorant men.” — Bertrand Russell
