Some things, like the orbits of the planets, can be calculated far into the future. But that's atypical. In most contexts, there… — Martin Rees Copy Share Image
The most important advances, the qualitative leaps, are the least predictable. Not even the best scientists predicted the impact of nuclear physics,… — Martin Rees Copy Share Image
The images of Earth's delicate biosphere, contrasting with the sterile moonscape where the astronauts left their footsteps, have become iconic for environmentalists:… — Martin Rees Copy Share Image
Most practising scientists focus on 'bite-sized' problems that are timely and tractable. The occupational risk is then to lose sight of the… — Martin Rees Copy Share Image
Most theorists suspect that space has an intricate structure - that it is 'grainy' - but that this structure is on a… — Martin Rees Copy Share Image
Not even the most secular among us can fail to be uplifted by Christianity's architectural legacy - the great cathedrals. These immense… — Martin Rees Copy Share Image
Over most of history, threats have come from nature - disease, earthquakes, floods, and so forth. But the worst now come from… — Martin Rees Copy Share Image
The stupendous time spans of the evolutionary past are now part of common culture (though maybe not in the United States Bible… — Martin Rees Copy Share Image
Ever since Darwin, we've been familiar with the stupendous timespans of the evolutionary past. But most people still somehow think we humans… — Martin Rees Copy Share Image
To most people in the U.K., indeed throughout Western Europe, space exploration is primarily perceived as 'what NASA does'. This perception is… — Martin Rees Copy Share Image
The scientific issues that engage people most are the truly fundamental ones: is the universe infinite? Is life just a sideshow in… — Martin Rees Copy Share Image
There's now, for the first time, a huge gulf between the artefacts of our everyday life and what even a single expert,… — Martin Rees Copy Share Image
A monkey is unaware that atoms exist. Likewise, our brainpower may not stretch to the deepest aspects of reality. The bedrock nature of space… — Martin Rees Copy Share Image
When scientists are asked what they are working on, their response is seldom 'Finding the origin of the universe' or 'Seeking to cure cancer.'… — Martin Rees Copy Share Image
“The Sun contains about a thousand times more mass than Jupiter. If it were cold, gravity would squeeze it a million times denser than… — Martin Rees Copy Share Image
“We, and the visible universe around us, may exist only because of a difference in the ninth decimal place between the numbers of quarks… — Martin Rees Copy Share Image
Crucial to science education is hands-on involvement: showing, not just telling; real experiments and field trips and not just 'virtual reality.' — Martin Rees Copy Share Image
I have no religious belief myself, but I don't think we should fight about it. In particular, I think that we should not rubbish… — Martin Rees Copy Share Image
“More energy is needed to rise a millimetre above a neutron star's surface than to break completely free of Earth's gravity. A pen dropped… — Martin Rees Copy Share Image
The next humans to walk on the moon may be Chinese. Only China seems to have the resources, the dirigiste government, and the willingness… — Martin Rees Copy Share Image
If we ever established contact with intelligent life on another world, there would be barriers to communication. First, they would be many light years… — Martin Rees Copy Share Image
There is an ever-widening gap between what science allows and what we should actually do. There are many doors science can open that should… — Martin Rees Copy Share Image
An insect is more complex than a star..and is a far greater challenge to understand. — Martin Rees Copy Share Image
