...most people in the world don't really use their brains to think. And people who don't think are the ones who don't listen to others.

That’s how stories happen — with a turning point, an unexpected twist. There’s only one kind of happiness, but misfortune comes in all shapes and sizes. It’s like Tolstoy said. Happiness is an allegory, unhappiness a story.

Everyone may be ordinary, but they're not normal.

The power to concentrate was the most important thing. Living without this power would be like opening one’s eyes without seeing anything.

Fate seems to be taking me in some even stranger directions.

Certain kinds of knowledge rob people of their sleep.

They take the circuits out of people’s brains that make it possible for them to think for themselves. Their world is like the one that George Orwell depicted in his novel. I’m sure you realize that there are plenty of people who are looking for exactly that kind of brain death. It makes life a lot easier. You don’t have to think about difficult things, just shut up and do what your superiors tell you to do.