“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.”

“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.”

“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?”

“Your brain can only process a tiny portion of your environment,It risks being overwhelmed by the volumeof information that bombards you every waking moment.Your brain compensates by filtering out the 99.9 percent ofyour environment that doesn’t matter to you.”

“Our system requires a continuous supply of highly capable people who are so disgruntled with their jobs that they are willing to chew off their own arms to escape their bosses.”

“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.”

“If, as you say, our minds are delusiongenerators, then we’re all like blind and deaf sea captainsshouting orders into the universe and hoping it makes a difference.We have no way of knowing what really works andwhat merely seems to work. So doesn’t it make sense to tryall the things that appear to work even if we can’t be sure?”