Superstition is the need to view the world in terms of simple cause and effect.

Sometimes, even the very best course of action fails.

Many scholars have complained of our tendency to see history only in conflicts, but I am not convinced they are right. It is in conflict that our values are exposed.

Which came first, the mind or the idea of the mind? Have you never wondered? They arrived together. The mind is an idea.

Unable to attribute misfortune to chance, unable to accept their ultimate insignificance within the greater scheme, the people looked for monsters in their midst.

I just love the idea that people disappear into the story for a while. You grab a book, and you want to get back to it, and your life becomes a bit of an interruption. I would love readers to feel like that.

I try not to be surprised. Surprise is the public face of a mind that has been closed.