“Everything he talked about had a kind of logic to it, but so do many things that are nonsense.”

“Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple effect with no logical end.”

“What does it mean to be yourself?” he asked. “If itmeans to do what you think you ought to do, then you’redoing that already. If it means to act like you’re exemptfrom society’s influence, that’s the worst advice in theworld; you would probably stop bathing and wearing clothes.The advice to ‘be yourself’ is obviously nonsense. But ourbrains accept this tripe as wisdom because it is more comfortableto believe we have a strategy for life than to believewe have no idea how to behave.”

“Okay, I can accept the idea that God doesn’t have apersonality exactly like people. Maybe we just assume Godhas a personality because it’s easier to talk about it that way.But the important point is that something had to create reality.It’s too well-designed to be an accident.”

“Love? Do you mean love in the way you understand itas a human?”“Well, not exactly, but basically the same thing. I mean,love is love.”“A brain surgeon would tell you that a specific part ofthe brain controls the ability to love. If it’s damaged, peopleare incapable of love, incapable of caring about others.”“So?”“So, isn’t it arrogant to think that the love generated byour little brains is the same thing that an omnipotent beingexperiences? If you were omnipotent, why would you limityourself to something that could be reproduced by a littleclump of neurons?”

“If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions?”

“Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he'll buy a funny hat. Talk to a hungry man about fish, and you're a consultant.”