Laura Bush Quotes

It is not enough for a handful of experts to attempt the solution of a problem, to solve it and then to apply it. The restriction of knowledge to an elite group destroys the spirit of society and leads to its intellectual impoverishment.

But I guess as long as I'm here, we might as well talk a little politics.

Some things tend not to work so well for science - things that rely on substantial written contributions by key experts are a case in point - but even there I tend to keep an open mind, because it may just be a case of finding the right formula.

A lot of people really like to answer questions, and they really enjoy sharing their knowledge. Especially people who have valuable knowledge.

Academic experts may not be good at doing what they are experts in themselves, but they are good at explaining the subject matter to others. They write books, teach courses and offer lessons and give steps others can follow.

I enjoy talking about politics a great deal.

It's for scientists to lay out the data and lay out what they think, and then it's for the public to make up its own mind. We don't live in a priesthood where some small group imposes its views on other people - that's not the way that science works, and it's not the way a democratic society should work.

A huge amount of our everyday thinking - powerful, creative, and resonant stuff - is done socially: talking to other people, arguing with them, relying on them to recall information for us.

We can't avoid that our daily and intimate manner of speaking is sometimes rough.

I'm not an interviewer. I have conversations.

And frankly, being a woman I think gives me a slightly different take on a lot of the issues and on a lot of the solutions to the problems we face.

I'm smart enough to know to work with smart people.

Knowledge is power, if you know it about the right person.

You know, people really want to hear about the issues.

I do not deal in any confidential information. What I do is provide advice.

I like to be asked about the projects I'm working on. I like to be asked about the books I'm reading, the things I'm interested in, what's exciting me right now, or even politics. Sometimes that's fun.

I think when I first started, I tried to make believe I was in the ballpark, sitting next to somebody and just talking. And if you go to a ballgame, and you sit there, you're not going to talk pitches for three hours.

We are not experts on everything. We are not capable of doing everything by ourselves. There are a bunch of other smarter people around the world.

Excluding certain problems from the political debate by making it a crime to discuss them won't lead to the disappearance of these concerns, let alone contribute to a solution.

I'm a policy guy, believe it or not. I love policy. I love solving tough problems.

I don't mind have an uncomfortable conversation if those uncomfortable conversations can lead to a bigger dialogue and help us get to a better understanding of whatever it is we are discussing.

Fortunately... 'With Fi and Jane' features BBC veterans Fi Glover and Jane Garvey sitting in the BBC cafe, nattering about whatever interests them.

I don't have all the answers. I'm just supposed to present what I think is an issue and have dialogue start.

I like debating policy.

Just because I am paying attention to politics and culture doesn't mean that I should be talking about the health-care bill, talking about the minutiae.