After listening to the Galambos lecture on Thomas Paine, I got copies of "Common Sense" and "The Age of Reason" (both are available for free on the internet), and after reading about half of "The Age of Reason" I am just blown away by the quality and clarity of Thomas Paine's thinking.
He writes in a voice that doesn't seem dated at all, and he seems to grasp the enormity of the universe and many other complex matters in a way that you might expect from someone who lived much more recently.
The fact that he only wrote the book because he had been sentenced to death in France and wanted to get his thoughts down on paper before he died makes it all the more impressive. I wouldn't think that a French prison awaiting the guillotine would be the best environment to write such a deeply thought-provoking work . (Before he was executed, the death sentence was commuted and he was released.)
Thomas Paine's "The Age of Reason"
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Thomas Paine's "The Age of Reason"
Q: “Do you have funny shaped balloons?”
A: “Not unless round is funny.”
A: “Not unless round is funny.”