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“If the world were to end tomorrow and we could choose to save only one thing as the explanation and memorial to who we were, then we couldn't do better than the Natural History Museum, although it wouldn't contain a single human. The systematic Linnean order, the vast inquisitiveness and range of collated knowledge and beauty would tell all that is the best of us.”
Source : A.A. Gill (2008). “Previous Convictions: Assignments from Here and There”, p.80, Simon and Schuster
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“Science is the outcome of being prepared to live without certainty and therefore a mark of maturity. It embraces doubt and loose ends.”
Source : "This much I know". Interview with Tim Adams, www.theguardian.com. July 4, 2009. 
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“The tree of research must be fed from time to time with the blood of bean-counters, for it is its natural manure.”
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“According to FBI statistics for 2008, only 22 percent of murder victims were killed by strangers. More than 30 percent were slain by family members, boyfriends, and girlfriends. Nearly half of all murders were committed by friends, neighbors, and casual acquaintances.”
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“In computers, every 'new explosion' was set off by a software product that allowed users to program differently.”
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“And since geometry is the right foundation of all painting, I have decided to teach its rudiments and principles to all youngsters eager for art. . .”
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“no study has brought out any solid evidence that the death penalty deters crime. In fact, Amnesty reports that 'the murder rate in states which use the death penalty is twice that of states which do not, according to FBI statistics.”
Source : Antoinette Bosco (2001). “Choosing Mercy: A Mother of Murder Victims Pleads to End the Death Penalty”
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“While moral rules may be propounded by authority the fact that these were so propounded would not validate them.”
Source : "The Meaning of Life and Other Essays" by A.J. Ayer, ("The Meaning of Life"), 1990.
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“I liked the fact she understood how we all have little secret habits that seem normal enough to us, but which we know better than to mention out loud.”
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“The receptivity of the masses is very limited, their intelligence is small, but their power of forgetting is enormous. In consequence of these facts, all effective propaganda must be limited to a very few points and must harp on these in slogans until the last member of the public understands what you want him to understand by your slogan.”
