The World Health Organization ... estimated that 1.6 million years of healthy living are lost every year in Europe because of noise pollution.

I thought religion would make me live with my head in the clouds, but as often as not, it grounds me in this world.

Unconditional love is an illogical notion, but such a great and powerful one.

Let me tell you, though: being the smartest boy in the world wasn’t easy. I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t want this. On the contrary, it was a huge burden. First, there was the task of keeping my brain perfectly protected. My cerebral cortex was a national treasure, a masterpiece of the Sistine Chapel of brains. This was not something that could be treated frivolously. If I could have locked it in a safe, I would have. Instead, I became obsessed with brain damage.

Giulia Melucci has written a wonderfully funny and moving book. It's like Eat, Pray, Love, with recipes.

A loud noise will get your fight-or-flight response going. This, over the years, can cause real cardiovascular damage.

There's a very passionate pro-chewing movement on the Internet called Chewdiasm. They say that we should be chewing 50 to 100 times per mouthful, which is insane. I tried that. It takes like a day and a half to eat a sandwich. But their basic idea is right. If you chew, you'll eat slower and you will get more nutrients.