Part of the reason I sort of shot out like a cannon out of Michigan and left home at such an early age is because I had to feel independent.

I went as an observer, not a participant, for I do not think that I ever spoke. I wanted to understand the issues under discussion, evaluate the arguments, see the calibre of the men involved.

A luminous body will appear more brilliant in proportion as it is surrounded by deeper shadow.

To any white body receiving the light from the sun, or the air, the shadows will be of a bluish cast.

A single and distinct luminous body causes stronger relief in the objects than a diffused light; as may be seen by comparing one side of a landscape illuminated by the sun, and one overshadowed by clouds, and illuminated only by the diffused light of the atmosphere.

I roamed the countryside searching for answers to things I did not understand. Why shells existed on the tops of mountains. How the various circles of water form around the spot which has been struck by a stone, and why a bird sustains itself in the air.