Aggression, like every other part of human behavior we take for granted, is a challenging engineering problem!

Art works because it appeals to certain faculties of the mind. Music depends on details of the auditory system, painting and sculpture on the visual system. Poetry and literature depend on language.

Why are empirical questions about how the mind works so weighted down with political and moral and emotional baggage?

All our behaviours are a result of neurophysiological activity in the brain. There is no reason to believe there is any magic going on.

I suspect music is auditory cheesecake, an exquisite confection crafted to tickle the sensitive spots of... our mental faculties.

Evolutionary psychology is one of four sciences that are bringing human nature back into the picture.

Thanks to the redundancy of language, yxx cxn xndxrstxnd whxt x xm wrxtxng xvxn xf x rxplxcx xll thx vxwxls wxth xn "x" (t gts lttl hrdr f y dn't vn kn whr th vwls r)

Photography is a kind of virtual reality, and it helps if you can create the illusion of being in an interesting world.

Plants can't very well defend themselves by their behavior, so they resort to chemical warfare, and plants are saturated with toxins and irritants to deter creatures like us who want to eat them.

I would argue that nothing gives life more purpose than the realization that every moment of consciousness is a precious and fragile gift.

Babies are born with the instinct to speak, the way spiders are born with the instinct to spin webs. You don't need to train babies to speak; they just do. But reading is different.

Law is made by the winner to preserve victory over the loser.

You are already the awakeness that you seek!

Getting to the playoffs is more important than winning an award.

I'm 43 years old, and I know who I am, and I own my mistakes. They're my business. And when somebody who doesn't know me has an opinion, it's none of my business.

I write out of defiance.

I love you, Ella May and nothing will ever change that. You can push me away -run away – and I will still love you.

One of the most radical things that you can do is really listen to someone.

The English name Jesus traces its origin to the Hebrew word Yeshua. Yeshua is a shortening of Yehoshuah, which means "Yahweh saves."

Ideally the point of music is community, not the player. Musicians are simply channels to link the audience to the music and to each other.

Unsubstantial Death is amorous.