Think of all the human suffering caused by the sad truth that beautiful sexy women or handsome Porsche-owning men often prove to have miserable genes for other traits

History as well as life itself is complicated -- neither life nor history is an enterprise for those who seek simplicity and consistency.

Forced to choose between limiting population or trying to increase food production, we chose the latter and ended up with starvation, warfare, and tyranny.

The adoption of agriculture, supposedly our most decisive step toward a better life, was in many ways a catastrophe from which we have never recovered.

AIDS and malaria and TB are national security issues. A worldwide program to get a start on dealing with these issues would cost about $25 billion... It's, what, a few months in Iraq.

We're uncomfortable about considering history as a science. It's classified as a social science, which is considered not quite scientific.

Biology is the science. Evolution is the concept that makes biology unique.

Technology has to be invented or adopted.

Rhino-mounted Bantu shock troops could have overthrown the Roman Empire. It never happened.

Human societies vary in lots of independent factors affecting their openness to innovation.

Why did human development proceed at such different rates on different continents for the last 13,000 years?

When the time comes to die, make sure that all you have to do is die!

The only person you should compete with is you.

Sometimes broken shoes and tattered clothes can tell us beautiful stories!

It may be possible to forget our past but our past is not going to forget us.

The rain is falling ever harder and all I can hear is the sound of the water. I'm drenched but I can't move.

There are people who dislike you because you do not dislike yourself.

I was the Commander in Chief with men and women in combat. And the idea of trying to agonize in public or show weakness would have demoralized them.

Before you can improve your life and find a measure of happiness, you must learn to do one thing every day out of pure love.

Whether you function as welders or inspectors, the laws of physics are implacable lie-detectors. You may fool men. You will never fool the metal.

I've been into golf, trying to get into the gym to stay somewhat fit. I've got two boys now, they're active kids.