“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.”

“What does it mean to feel something similar to the wayGod feels? Is that like saying a pebble is similar to the sun because both are round?” he responded.“Maybe God designed our brains to feel love the same way he feels it. He could do that if he wanted to.”

“How can something that doesn’t exist in physicalform have influence over the things that do?”

“Men believe value is created by accomplishment, and they have objectives for the women in their lives. If awoman meets the objectives, he assumes she loves him. If she fails to meet the objectives, he will assume she does notlove him. The man assumes that if the woman loved him she would have tried harder and he always believes his objectives for her are reasonable.”

“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.”

“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?”

“Conversation is more than the sum of the words. It isalso a way of signaling the importance of another person byshowing your willingness to give that person your rarestresource: time. It is a way of conveying respect. Conversationreminds us that we are part of a greater whole, connected insome way that transcends duty or bloodline or commerce.Conversation can be many things, but it can never be useless.”