Science

The only way for you to discover something new is to acknowledge the ocean of ignorance in which you are just an island. Experts have a problem with that – they want to get prizes, and get recognised by their colleagues and peers as being very smart.

Harvard astrophysicist who studies interstellar objects and extraterrestrial life

Science is a learning experience. We are interacting with nature, collecting evidence, and sometimes nature is more imaginative than we are. We ought to be humble when collective evidence, and not assume we know the answer in advance.

Harvard astrophysicist who studies interstellar objects and extraterrestrial life

Curiosity drives human progress; it helps us understand our world and that's what drew me to leave my home. I had this curiosity, like Isaac Newton when he saw the apple fall and wondered why.

We can literally see in science that having an open mind, an openness to the unexpected, and the right goals and direction create a greater likelihood of success. This mindset literally gives people the permission to look- and act- on the unexpected.

The lucky person walks down the street, sees the £5 note, picks it up, goes into the coffee shop, and sits next to the businessperson, they have a conversation, exchange cards, and leave thinking they've potentially had a great opportunity. The unlucky person ignores the money, and sits next to the person without making conversation.

The rate of change has become exponential and us as human beings physiologically have not been able to adapt. We just cannot physiologically adapt that quickly – what does it mean for us? This is in some ways Darwinian because he said it wasn't about the strongest that survives, it's those that are most able to adapt.

Chief Happiness Officer & Author of "Delivering Happiness

Gender identity drives self-socialization. People think adults socialise their children, but children socialise themselves. We see the same process in the Great Apes. Self-socialisation we see, is not limited just to humans! That's why I talk about the idea of gender in apes, not just sex.

Primatologist & behavioral psychologist who studies animal cognition and emotions

When you observe chimpanzees and other apes, you see how extremely humanlike they are in almost everything they do. We have been so indoctrinated to think we are special (as a species) that when you see an ape up close and see they are- in essence- us, you don't know what to do with those feelings.

Primatologist & behavioral psychologist who studies animal cognition and emotions

There was a revealing study which showed this too. If you tap out the rhythm to a familiar song, say 'happy birthday…' how often do you think that someone listening to your taps will guess the song? The person tapping usually guesses about 50%, but in reality, it's about 2.5%!

Harvard Business Review contributor & workplace dynamics expert

Neuroscience shows us that habit formation is based on how rewarding something is, not willpower. Willpower isn't even in the equation. We like to think of willpower is something, but it's more myth than muscle.

Neuroscientist & Expert on Habit Change and Mindfulness-Based Treatments

You can think of habits as a 'set and forget,' we set the habit, we set the behaviour, and we forget about the details. That frees up our brain to learn new things throughout the day.

Neuroscientist & Expert on Habit Change and Mindfulness-Based Treatments

Our brains are not so well equipped, we just tend to assume patterns that look connected are causally connected. So a conspiracy theory is just another causal theory – why did these things happen?

Founder of The Skeptics Society & Science Communicator

The microbiome is taking up space, so it is not letting the viruses and the bad bacteria come, adhere to the tissue and then grow. To conclude these are the two mechanisms. It's very simple.

I don't think you can find any other organ in the body that has correlation with so many other organs than the mouth. Research has been widespread, and over the past 30 years, gum disease has been linked to heart disease, to colorectal cancer, to diabetes, to all sorts of issues within the body.

How did we survive for thousands of years without modern medicine? What was it that we inherently had that was protecting us? And as I went deeper and deeper in that area and in that research and in that study, what I came up with was microbiome.

The fact that you and I are alive is against stupendous odds. One day we will die, and that's sad, but there are people who will never die because they were never born. We're the lucky ones, we get to die.

Renowned Astrophysicist & Director of Hayden Planetarium