“In our acquisition of knowledge of the Universe, that which renovates the quest is nothing more nor less than complete innocence. In this state of complete innocence, we receive everything from the moment of our birth. Although so often the object of our contempt and private fears, it is always in us. It alone can unite humility with boldness to allow us to penetrate to the heart of things or allow things to enter us and take possession of us.

This unique power is [not] a privilege [of]“exceptional talents” – persons of incredible brainpower, better able to manipulate, with dexterity and ease, an enormous mass of ideas and specialized skills. Such gifts are valuable and undoubtedly worthy of envy from those who (like myself) were not so “endowed at birth, far beyond the ordinary.”

Yet it is not these gifts, nor the most determined ambition and willpower, that enables one to surmount the “invisible yet formidable boundaries” that encircle our universe. Only innocence can surmount them, which mere knowledge doesn’t even take into account, in those moments when we find ourselves able to listen to things, intensely absorbed in child’s play."