“Don't you feel something magical when you're in love?... I do, I certainly do ... but I think that feeling of magic is a hardwired psychological response. It's a chemical thing in the brain. It's a flow of chemicals and electrical currents, and it developed over millions of years in the process of evolution to aid in the procreation of the species.” ThinkingFeelsYearsFeelingsProcessBrainMillionsMagicEvolutionFlowResponseSpeciesCurrentsAidsPsychologicalChemicalsElectricalProcreation Author:Alan Lightman
“Nature is purposeless. Nature simply is. We may find nature beautiful or terrible, but those feelings are human constructions. Such utter and complete mindlessness is hard for us to accept. We feel such a strong connection to nature. But the relationship between nature and us is one-sided. There is no reciprocity. There is no mind on the other side of the wall.” FeelsMindHumansMayHardFeelingsBeautifulStrongSidesAcceptingWallTerribleConnectionsConstructionReciprocityOne SidedStrong Connection Author:Alan Lightman
“One day I'm going to write a book about osprey. It has really gotten deep into my bloodstream. So when you ask what else I do, I feel like this is part of what I do....is to watch these birds.” FeelsWritingBookAsksWatchesOne DayBirdOspreys Author:Alan Lightman
“I go to live in Maine for the summer. Without computer, and without the telephone service we are mercifully without the faxes and e-mails. So it's really about two and a half months that I'll feel like I can recover some silence in my life...which is so hard to find.” FeelsI CanTwoHardHalfSilenceMonthsComputerSummerMailTelephonesMaineFax Author:Alan Lightman
“I have a number of vague ideas where I just have the core or kernel of the idea. I feel like I need some time for my mind to fill up again. I feel empty. Right now.” NeedsFeelsMindIdeasNumbersRight NowEmptyCoreVagueKernelVague Ideas Author:Alan Lightman
“Human beings consider themselves satisfied only compared to some other condition. A man who has owned nothing but a bicycle all of his life feels suddenly wealthy the moment he buys an automobile...But this happy sensation wears off. After a while the car becomes just another thing that he owns. Moreover, when his neighbor next door buys two cars, in an instant our man feels wretchedly poor and deprived.” MenFeelsHumansTwoMomentsNextHuman BeingsPoorDoorsConditionsCarNeighborSatisfiedInstantWealthySensationsDeprivedAutomobileBicycle Author:Alan Lightman
“In this world, there are two times. There is mechanical time and there is body time." "They do not keep clocks in their houses. Instead, they listen to their heartbeats. They feel the rhythms of their moods and desires." "Then there are those who think their bodies don't exist. They live by mechanical time. They rise at seven o'clock in the morning. They eat their lunch at noon and their supper at six. They arrive at their appointments on time, precisely by the clock.” ThinkingWorldFeelsTwoBodyDesireHouseMorningThis WorldSixSevenMoodRhythmClockLive ByLunchHeartbeatNoonAppointmentsSupper Author:Alan Lightman
“I have for a long time loved fabulist, imaginative fiction, such as the writing of Italo Calvino, Jose Saramago, Michael Bulgakov, and Salman Rushdie. I also like the magic realist writers, such as Borges and Marquez, and feel that interesting truths can be learned about our world by exploring highly distorted worlds.” WorldFeelsWritingLongInterestingFictionMagicLong TimeOur WorldExploringImaginativeRealistTime LoveBorgesRushdieMarquez Author:Alan Lightman
