The outline of our lives, like the candles flame, is continuously coaxed in new directions by a variety of random events that, along with our respons… - Leonard Mlodinow

Perception requires imagination because the data people encounter in their lives are never complete and always equivocal.

Historians whose profession is to study the past, are as wary as scientists of the idea that events unfold in a manner that can be predicted. In fact, in a study of history the illusion of inevitability has serious consequences that it is one of the few things that both conservative and socialist historians can agree on.

It might seem daunting to think that effort and chance, as much as innate talent, are what counts. But I find it encouraging because, while our genetic makeup is out of our control, our degree of effort is up to us. And the effects of chance, too, can be controlled to the extent that by committing ourselves to repeated attempts, we can increase our odds of success.