"This book tells no story, either made-up or true. So if light, easily digestible prose is your thing, you might want to consider reading something else. The same goes for anyone looking for quick and easy ways to attain inner harmony, get ahead in business, shed excess pounds, or master three languages in five weeks (or five languages in three weeks)—whether selectively or all at once—with success assured and no effort required."

"To see this, all you have to do is take a good look at how Nature works. No, not the one we like to spend time in, with flowers in the meadow, birds chirping, and lions ripping their prey to shreds. I mean the all-powerful one, spelled with a capital N, that is everywhere and runs everything. As soon as you do, you will inevitably conclude that it works in an absolutely perfect and yet incredibly simple way."

"In the case of life, there’s a cycle again. (...) Something is born, grows, and then dies, only to be reborn and continue to grow. (...) In contrast, imagine that biological life has no end. Such a prospect, at least at first glance, would probably please many of us (unless you work in the funeral industry). A second glance, however, would probably leave many people depressed. We could conclude that we don't exist at all. Who would want to make us, and what for?"

"Who or what is a human? I ask this question in two variants because some believe that a human is some sort of machine or device. (...) The proponents of this concept argue that we are nothing but a bunch of atoms. All the processes that take place in and around us are their work alone. They claim that there is no significant distinction between a saddle, a horse, and a rider. The only difference lies in the complexity of the operations each machine needs to handle."

"Everything had its beginning a long time ago. People started to analyze the surrounding reality. They considered it possible that some nonmaterial part of them doesn't die for good, but instead travels to the great Beyond. But what can you do to make sure you don’t miss the trip? And how do you get there? If there is a demand, there is always a service provider. And the more interested customers, the richer the offer."

"We live and develop on Earth, not in heaven. There aren’t problems there so how are you supposed to grow? It would be nice to participate in the process all the time. That would be only fair. A fellow who lived back in the day mostly dug holes into which mammoths or saber-toothed tigers fell (or not). He had less intellectual leeway than you, dear reader, if I may accost you and compare. So let’s assume you were also there at the time..."

"Even if still in early infancy, there is one area in which we have achieved true excellence. By 'we' I mean all humans, regardless of their pace, latitude, altitude above sea level, or even their salinity. This competence is making up stories. The term is used on purpose, equivalent to fairy tales and fables, to highlight the fact that they have little to do with reality. Inventors usually disagree."