The brain is like a muscle. 

When it is in use 

we feel very good. 

Understanding is joyous.

Somewhere, 

something incredible 

is waiting to be known.

For me, it is far better 

to grasp the Universe as it really is 

than to persist in delusion, 

however satisfying and reassuring.

Skeptical scrutiny is the means, 

in both science and religion, 

by which deep thoughts can be winnowed from deep nonsense.

Our species needs, 

and deserves, 

a citizenry with minds wide awake 

and a basic understanding 

of how the world works.

We make the world significant

by the courage of our questions

and the depth of our answers.

Science is a way of thinking 

much more than it is a body of knowledge.

Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. 

But without it we go nowhere.

Science is not only compatible with spirituality; 

it is a profound source of spirituality.