I spent my adult life as a scientist, and science is, essentially, the most successful approach we have to try and understand the vast mysteries around.

Consciousness is the smallest player in the operations of the brain.

What a life in science really teaches you is the vastness of our ignorance.

My lab and academic work fill my day from about 9 am to 7 p.m. Then I zoom out the lens to work on my other writing.

The main thing known about secrets is that keeping them is unhealthy for the brain.

The continuous networks of neural circuitry accomplish their functions using multiple, independently discovered strategies. The brain lends itself well to the complexity of the world, but poorly to clear-cut cartography.

We are not conscious of most things until we ask ourselves questions about them.