Sample size The number of samples in the investigation, e.g. the number of people in a drug trial

Model A simplified picture of what's physically going on.

Prediction/Hypothesis A specific testable statement, based on a theory, about what will happen in a test situation.

Peer Review Where a scientific report is sent out to peers (other scientists) who examine the data and results, and if they think that the conclusion is reasonable it's published.

Variable A quantity that has the potential to change, e.g. weight, temperature, concentration.

Prediction/Hypothesis A specific testable statement, based on a theory, about what will happen in a test situation

Precise Result A result that is really close to the mean.

Random Error A difference in measurement caused by an unpredictable factor, e.g. human error.

Repeatable Result A Result that can be repeated by the same person using the same method and equipment.

Reproducible Result A result that can be consistently reproduced in an independent experiment.

Valid Conclusion A conclusion that answers the original question.

Accurate Result A result that is really close to the true answer.

Variable A quantity that has the potential to change, e.g. weight, temperature, concentration.

Independent Variable The variable you change in an experiment.

Dependent Variable The variable you measure in an experiment.

Control Group A group in a study that is treated in exactly the same way as the experimental group, apart from the factor you're investigating.

Placebo A dummy pill or injection that looks exactly like the real drug, but doesn't contain the drug.

All writers are magpies, right? We're always stealing bits from different places and then weaving them into our little nest.

You have to let go of who you were to become who you will be.

Music is the voice that tells us that the human race is greater than it knows.

If you want to get a good seat at a Texas A&M game or a University of Texas game, it depends on how much money you give the school.

What I find is really interesting is the Ear-Nose-Throat doctor thing, which I know would take a lot of work and education, but it's something that really interests me, because it's something that helps people who've had the same problems as me, with the whole hearing and nose congestion and problems with your voice.

It is well for us that we are born babies in intellect. Could we understand half what mothers say and do to their infants, we should be filled with a conceit of our own importance, which would render us insupportable through life.

I couldn't fit in the Irish community in New York. I was never one of the boys because they would talk about baseball or basketball, and I knew nothing about it.

My father's record collection was full of New Orleans music of all kinds. I used to listen to the radio in New York, and all there was on it at the time was Madonna and Michael Jackson, so it sort of passed me by.

I am as frustrated with society as a pyromaniac in a petrified forest.

It's the publicity function of Amnesty that I think has made its name so widely known, not only to readers in the world, but to governments - and that's what matters.

In The States I would have no edge, no advantage at all.

Life is not the way it's supposed to be. It's the way it is. The way you deal with it is what makes the difference.

I will always remember this summer day in Paris, when I was to perform a great acrobatic move. I can still see myself stepping on the ring of a packed circus along real performers.

My wife would say I'm not romantic at all, but I would say that I'm the ultimate romancer because I write about... life being brilliant.

I understand popular entertainment better than anyone. I want to have the world's No. 1 tennis player, the hottest movie, the biggest artist.

The surprising thing about fatherhood was finding my inner mush. Now I want to share it with the world.

The temporary good is enemy to the permanent best.

Imaginary time is a new dimension, at right angles to ordinary, real time.

We worked with the engineers in the design and construction and testing phases in those various areas, then we would get back together at the end of the week and brief each other as to what had gone on.

Too many ads that try not to go over the reader's head end up beneath his notice.

'Encores!' is, to me, a wonderful, warm, welcoming place, and I hope it always will be.

Old men are cantankerous: they like to get their own way.

We had to be down early to get the best stuff for the pros we looked after and then get the rags that we were left ourselves for training. It seems very old school but it grounded me as a person and made me appreciate everything as a footballer, because all we got was a pair of boots.

It is the city of mirrors, the city of mirages, at once solid and liquid, at once air and stone.