“Ultimately, we’ll help the people we discriminate against if we try to understand more about them; genetics will lead to a world where there is a sympathy for the underdog.”

You’ve never heard of an English lover. Only an English patient.

Already for thirty-five years he had not stopped talking and almost nothing of fundamental value had emerged.

The way to do great science is to stay away from subjects that are overpopulated, and go to the frontiers.

Some think there is something wrong about enhancing people.

The pace of discovery is going unbelievably fast.

No one may have the guts to say this, but if we could make better human beings by knowing how to add genes, why shouldn’t we?

The luckiest thing that ever happened to me was that my father didn’t believe in God, and so he had no hang-ups about souls.

Whenever you interview fat people, you feel bad, because you know you’re not going to hire them.

I think the reason people are dealing with science less well now than 50 years ago is that it has become so complicated.

No good model ever accounted for all the facts, since some data was bound to be misleading if not plain wrong.

One could not be a successful scientist without realizing that, in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers and mothers of scientists, a goodly number of scientists are not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.

If you succeed with your first dream, it helps. You know, people trust you, possibly, for the second one. They give you a chance to play out your second one.

DNA was my only gold rush. I regarded DNA as worth a gold rush.

Do things as soon as you can. If a decision needs to be made, make it. It gives you more time to change your mind.

The biggest advantage to believing in God is you don’t have to understand anything, no physics, no biology. I wanted to understand.

If I had been married earlier in life, I wouldn’t have seen the double helix. I would have been taking care of the kids on Saturday. On the other hand, I was lonely a lot of the time.

It’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you’ll drift in that direction.

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams!

My music definitely determines the direction we’re gonna move in. It’s like music, fashion, hair, makeup.

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And you are the one who’ll decide where to go.

God will take care of what you go through. You take care of how you go through it.

Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer.

You have the power to steer our country in the right direction. Your voice matters more than ever. Use it.

Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.