It's probably as unlikely that you would nowadays become as rich and famous as Bill Gates, as it was unlikely in the17th century that you would accede to the ranks of the French aristocracy. But the point is, it doesn't feel that way. It's made to feel, by magazines and other media outlets, that if you've got energy, a few bright ideas about technology, a garage -- you, too, could start a major thing.

Writing is making sense of life. You work your whole life and perhaps you've made sense of one small area.

The most important word in science is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'