“Even the plainest of events is tied down by a thick tangle of permutation and possibility, but the human mind struggles with such complexity. In times of trouble, when the belief in simple gods breaks down, a cult of conspiracy… — Bernard Beckett Copy Share
“Superstition is the need to view the world in terms of simple cause and effect. As I have already said, religious fundamentalism was on the rise, but that is not the type of superstition I am referring to. The superstition… — Bernard Beckett Copy Share Image
“Do you believe in God?' Grace asked him. The question was not strange. They were past strangeness. 'Of course' he replied. It was easier than the truth, simpler. 'Why?' 'Because without God' he started, his voice slipping easily into the lilting rhythm of recitation, 'we have no reason to believe in reason. Without God, our reason is an accident of… — Bernard Beckett Copy Share
I just love the idea that people disappear into the story for a while. You grab a book, and you want to get back… — Bernard Beckett Copy Share Image
Science is a little bit more than a wonderful way of modelling and predicting; it's a wonderful technical abstraction. I think science is a… — Bernard Beckett Copy Share Image
“Ugly's still ugly, no matter how you see it." "An interesting assertion. Justify it." "You bring twenty people in here," Adam told him, "and they'll all say the same thing. They'll all say you're ugly." "Bring in twenty of me," Art said, "and we'd all say your ass is prettier than your face." "There aren't twenty of you." "No, you're… — Bernard Beckett Copy Share
Unable to attribute misfortune to chance, unable to accept their ultimate insignificance within the greater scheme, the people looked for monsters in their midst. — Bernard Beckett Copy Share Image
Our world is limited by the machinery we carry. It's very different to the 18th and 19th century Enlightenment scientists who were mostly men… — Bernard Beckett Copy Share Image
“You think the thing you call consciousness is some mysterious gift from the heavens, but in the end consciousness is nothing but the context… — Bernard Beckett Copy Share Image
“We have nothing but a history of our own invention to support this view. It suits us to believe it. It allows us to… — Bernard Beckett Copy Share Image
The Idea enters the brain from the outside. It rearranges the furniture to make it more to its liking. It finds other Ideas already… — Bernard Beckett Copy Share Image
