BLINDSIGHT is fearless: a magnificent, darkly gleaming jewel of a book that hurdles the contradictions inherent in biochemistry, consciousness, and human hearts without breaking stride.

Opinions are like kittens," he commented. "People are always giving them away.

If you could disagree with kings, were gods so far above?

Every one of us is a minor tragedy. Most of us learn to cope.

The secret to getting away with lying, is believing with all your heart. That goes for lying to yourself even more so than lying to another.

The end of the world was supposed to be gradual. There was supposed to be warning. A long, slow slide. What we got was punctuated equilibrium: a stately wobbling, then a sudden tipping point. There was plenty of warning, I suppose. We just weren’t paying attention.

Like the minor poet who knows the meanness of his gift, I am doomed to a lifetime of frustration: to be able to comprehend beauty, but not create it.