^Even ^now ^we ^are ^wired ^to ^believe ^that ^unseen ^things ^are ^watching ^us.” ^Even ^here ^in ^the ^21st ^century ^we ^can ^make ^people ^more ^honest ^just ^by ^scribbling ^a ^pair ^of ^eyes ^on ^the ^wall ^with ^a ^Sharpie.

^And ^from ^those ^humble ^beginnings ^we ^learn ^to ^see ^faces ^in ^the ^clouds ^and ^portents ^in ^the ^stars, ^to ^see ^agency ^in ^randomness, ^because ^natural ^selection ^favours ^the ^paranoid. ^And ^the ^same ^thing ^happened ^a ^million ^times ^across ^ten ^thousand ^generations ^- ^and ^after ^a ^while ^everyone ^was ^seeing ^tigers ^in ^the ^grass ^even ^when ^there ^were`t ^any ^tigers, ^because ^even ^chickenshits ^have ^more ^kids ^than ^corpses ^do. ^But ^the ^third ^guy ^thought ^it ^was ^only ^the ^wind, ^so ^he ^shrugged ^it ^off ^and ^the ^tiger ^had ^him ^for ^dinner. ^The ^second ^one ^thought ^the ^rustling ^was ^a ^tiger ^and ^he ^ran ^like ^hell, ^but ^it ^was ^only ^the ^wind ^and ^his ^friends ^all ^laughed ^at ^him ^for ^being ^such ^a ^chickenshit. ^The ^first ^one ^thought ^it ^was ^a ^tiger, ^and ^he ^ran ^like ^hell, ^and ^it ^was ^a ^tiger ^but ^the ^guy ^got ^away. >^“Fifty ^thousand ^years ^ago ^there ^were ^these ^three ^guys ^spread ^out ^across ^the ^plain ^and ^they ^each ^heard ^something ^rustling ^in ^the ^grass. ^Meme ^management ^is ^so ^much ^subtler ^the ^rose-tinted ^refraction ^of ^perceived ^reality, ^the ^contagious ^fear ^of ^threatening ^alternatives.” >^“Not ^even ^the ^most ^heavily-armed ^police ^state ^can ^exert ^brute ^force ^to ^all ^of ^its ^citizens ^all ^of ^the ^time. They contain tons of memorable (and quotable) quotes, such as: ^^Send ^^them ^^to ^^the ^^edge ^^of ^^the ^^solar ^^system, ^^praying ^^you ^^can ^^trust ^^such ^^freaks ^^and ^^monsters ^^with ^^the ^^fate ^^of ^^a ^^world. ^^Send ^^a ^^man ^^with ^^half ^^his ^^mind ^^gone ^^since ^^childhood. ^^Send ^^a ^^pacifist ^^warrior ^^and ^^a ^^vampire ^^recalled ^^from ^^the ^^grave ^^by ^^the ^^voodoo ^^of ^^paleogenetics. >^^Send ^^a ^^linguist ^^with ^^multiple-personality ^^disorder ^^and ^^a ^^biologist ^^so ^^spliced ^^with ^^machinery ^^that ^^he ^^can't ^^feel ^^his ^^own ^^flesh. (Re-reading the two for a 4th time currently). The only two books that I've ever read more than once in a year.

Blindsight peter