I think that a failure of statistical thinking is the major intellectual shortcoming of our universities, journalism and intellectual culture.

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.

I wondered: if I was so hell-bent on chaos, why would I adopt a military rank? Perhaps there was a part of me that needed rules, needed regulations and order.

The Christian living is a spiritual welfare. As the year draws to an end, seek the face of the Lord for guidance in the coming year.

Don't worry. Chivalry has practically no appeal for me whatsoever. -- Neville Fletcher

When a plutocracy is disguised as a democracy, the system is beyond corrupt.

Life is a sacred story.

I sometimes say to people, "I am a window frame - no more. The window frame is not that important. What is important is the light that comes through the window.

Unless you are in the middle of a storm, there is no validity in saying that you are not afraid of the storms.

Of course I'm naughty. I've always had to compete for attention, you see.

I haven't always recruited for the best talent. I've taken a few guys who would fit for different reasons. Leadership. Toughness

We both have war inside us. Sometimes it keeps us alive. Sometimes it threatens to destroy us.