7 Quotes by James Tagg

I came home from work one day and felt compelled to write a book about free will.

There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don’t know we don’t know.

In life, telling a joke will make another person smile. This causes people to be happy and happy people release chemicals into their bloodstream which make them healthier. Happy people then tell jokes to others. This circular process improves the well-being of communities and helps bond people together.

This is the outer surface of the brain where much of our thinking is done. Unfolded, this surface layer would cover the area of a football field.

This proposal would mean our Universe is entirely deterministic, our lives the result of a gigantic computer program that we live within and form part of.

The three years it takes to acquire ‘the knowledge’ and the subsequent years of navigating London’s complex streets give cabbies a 30% larger hippocampus than the average London resident.

Another interesting fact is people become more intelligent as they age, gaining about one IQ point every ten years. Against the stereotype, it’s not all downhill after forty. There is hope for me.