“Our arrogancecauses us to imagine special value in this temporary collectionof molecules. Why do we perceive more spiritual valuein the sum of our body parts than on any individual cell inour body? Why don’t we hold funerals when skin cells die?”

“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.”

“Practicality rules our perceptions.To survive, our tiny brains need to tame the blizzard ofdelusion generatorinformation that threatens to overwhelm us. Our perceptionsare wondrously flexible, transforming our worldviewautomatically and continuously until we find safe harbor ina comfortable delusion.”

“The best you can hope for in a relationship is to findsomeone whose flaws are the sort you don’t mind. It isfutile to look for someone who has no flaws, or someonewho is capable of significant change; that sort of personexists only in our imaginations.”

“I was no longer surprised to find unlocked doorsin the city. Maybe at some subconscious level we don’tbelieve we need protection from our own species.”

“We humans are nothing more than the sum of our memories.”

“we are nothing more than the sum of our memories and experiences”