The Eerie Silence: Are We Alone In

So How Can We Test The Idea That The Transition From Nonlife To Life Is Simple Enough To Happen Repeatedly? The Most Obvious And Straightforward Way Is To Search For A Second Form Of Life On Earth. No Planet Is More Earth-like Than Earth Itself, So If The Path To Life Is Easy, Then Life Should Have Started Up Many Times Over Right Here.

Science Can Proceed Only If The Scientist Adopts An Essentially Theological Worldview. ..even The Most Atheistic Scientist Accepts As An Act Of Faith The Existence Of A Law-like Order In Nature That Is At Least In Part Comprehensible To Us.

It Is Hard To Resist The Impression That The Present Structure Of The Universe, Apparently So Sensitive To Minor Alterations In Numbers, Has Been Rather Carefully Thought Out...the Seemingly Miraculous Concurrence Of These Numerical Values Must Remain The Most Compelling Evidence For Cosmic Design.

In The Frantic Search For An Elusive 'cure,' Few Researchers Stand Back And Ask A Very Basic Question: Why Does Cancer Exist? What Is Its Place In The Grand Story Of Life?

In Spite Of The Fact That Religion Looks Backward To Revealed Truth While Science Looks Forward To New Vistas And Discoveries, Both Activities Produce A Sense Of Awe And A Curious Mixture Of Humility And Arrogance In Their Practitioners. All Great Scientists Are Inspired By The Subtlety And Beauty Of The Natural World That They Are Seeking To Understand. Each New Subatomic Particle, Every Unexpected Object, Produces Delight And Wonderment. In Constructing Their Theories, Physicists Are Frequently Guided By Arcane Concepts Of Elegance In The Belief That The Universe Is Intrinsically Beautiful.