“Destroying rainforest for economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal.”

In 2010, my two Harvard mathematician colleagues and I dismantled kin-selection theory, which was the reigning theory of the origin of altruism at the time.

Science and religion are the two most powerful forces in the world. Having them at odds… is not productive.

Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction.

Of course, there is no reconciliation between the theory of evolution by natural selection and the traditional religious view of the origin of the human mind.

Ants have the most complicated social organization on earth next to humans.

The world depends on fungi, because they are major players in the cycling of materials and energy around the world.

Companies that are willing to share, to withhold in order to further the growth of the company.

In many environments, take away the ants and there would be partial collapses in many of the land ecosystems.

If we were to wipe out insects alone on this planet, the rest of life and humanity with it would mostly disappear from the land. Within a few months.

Theology made no provision for evolution. The biblical authors had missed the most important revelation of all! Could it be that they were not really privy to the thoughts of God?

Willing to try to get a better atmosphere through a demonstration of democratic principles, fairness and cooperation, a better product, those will win in the end.

Persist! The world needs all you can give.

The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely.

There is no better high than discovery.

Individual versus group selection results in a mix of altruism and selfishness, of virtue and sin, among the members of a society.

The variety of genes on the planet in viruses exceeds, or is likely to exceed, that in all of the rest of life combined.

I can’t really cook, but the first dish I ever made was for my girlfriend, Eleanor. I made chicken breast wrapped in ham, homemade mashed potatoes, and gravy.

I used to play hooky from school so I could watch cooking shows.

Our mom cooks well, and we cook poorly. We try.

Mum doesn’t like it when I mention that Dad’s a better cook than her. He was born in Spain and spent eight years in Portugal and is exceptional at lots of cuisines.

It’s too much of a drinking culture, everything tastes better with a drink. Like, watch TV: glass of wine. Cooking dinner: glass of champagne. White wine vinegar hasn’t got white wine in it. Has it?

I think an artist is anybody who does something well, like if you cook well.

I cook. I go to farmers markets in London and cook really good sort of organic foods.

Cooking is an act of love, a gift, a way of sharing with others the little secrets — ‘piccoli segreti’ — that are simmering on the burners.