“Intelligence is an accident of evolution, and not necessarily an advantage.”

If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success – but only if you persist.

When stupidity is considered patriotism, it is unsafe to be intelligent.

There are no nations! There is only humanity. And if we don’t come to understand that right soon, there will be no nations, because there will be no humanity.

Life is a journey, but don’t worry, you’ll find a parking spot at the end.

The great secret of the successful fool is that he’s no fool at all.

Maybe happiness is this: not feeling like you should be elsewhere, doing something else, being someone else.

So the universe is not quite as you thought it was. You’d better rearrange your beliefs, then. Because you certainly can’t rearrange the universe.

Was there anything more exciting in life than seeking answers?

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?

He always pictured himself a libertarian, which to my way of thinking means “I want the liberty to grow rich and you can have the liberty to starve”. It’s easy to believe that no one should depend on society for help when you yourself happen not to need such help.

My feeling is, quite simply, that if there is a God, He has done such a bad job that he isn’t worth discussing.

No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.

The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.

While he lives, he must think; while he thinks, he must dream.

Today’s science fiction is tomorrow’s science fact.

I am not a speed reader. I am a speed understander.

I did standup while still working for Johnny Carson in the mid-’60s, thus gaining the advantage of at least getting laughs from him about how I hadn’t the night before.

An election is nothing more than the advanced auction of stolen goods.

Don’t be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard.

There’s this idea that because I’m a heavyweight, I’m not supposed to be in condition, that I should take advantage of the fact that I can eat. But I train and eat well, and it shows when I step on the scales.

The liberty of thinking and publishing whatsoever each one likes, without any hindrances, is not in itself an advantage over which society can wisely rejoice. On the contrary, it is the fountainhead and origin of many evils.

Politics: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.

The world is so full of people who are grabbing and self-seeking. So the rare individual who unselfishly tries to serve others has an enormous advantage. He has little competition.

To govern is always to choose among disadvantages.