One of the things your unconscious mind does for you - and it's a great gift - is it gives you extra courage to view the outer world and it does that by giving you an extra-special view of yourself. Leonard Mlodinow More Quotes by Leonard Mlodinow More Quotes From Leonard Mlodinow Non-human primates spend hours a day grooming each other. And with humans, touching is also important. It's a way to form bonds and connect in modern society. But you can also speed up the use of conscious purposes once you're aware of that, and it can be manipulated. Leonard Mlodinow day you society way Expressive speech, with modulation in pitch and volume, and a minimum of noticeable pauses, boosts credibility and enhances the impression of intelligence. Leonard Mlodinow pitch intelligence impression speech Social connection is such a basic feature of human experience that when we are deprived of it, we suffer. Leonard Mlodinow suffer connection human experience The truth is that our unconscious minds are active, purposeful, and independent. Hidden they may be, but their effects are anything but, for they play a critical role in shaping the way our conscious minds experience and respond to the world. Leonard Mlodinow truth-is experience truth world If memories were indeed like what a camera records, they could be forgotten, or they could fade so that they are no longer clear and vivid. But it would be difficult to explain how people could have memories that are both clear and vivid while also being wrong. Yet that happens, and it is not infrequent. Leonard Mlodinow fade camera memories people Language is handy, but we humans have social and emotional connections that transcend words and are communicated - and understood - without conscious thought. Leonard Mlodinow words thought emotional language The attacks on global warming are no different than the attacks the cigarettes companies used to use to say that cigarettes don't cause cancer. Leonard Mlodinow say global-warming cancer different By subliminal, I mean things that occur in our world that are below the threshold of consciousness but do have a psychological effect on us. Leonard Mlodinow us things mean world People spend a lot of time talking and thinking about how members of the opposite sex look, but very little time paying attention to how they sound. To our unconscious minds, however, voice is very important. Leonard Mlodinow look time people thinking I always liked movies, so I started writing for Hollywood, but my day job was physics. Leonard Mlodinow movies job day writing Of course our feelings matter. But emotional decisions are usually not the best ones. On the other hand, your emotions can affect your decisions whether you like it or not because the effects can occur on the unconscious level. Leonard Mlodinow emotions best you matter We routinely participate in elaborate nonverbal exchanges even when we are not consciously aware of doing so. Leonard Mlodinow elaborate aware even doing One of the most surprising forms of nonverbal communication is the way we automatically adjust the amount of time we spend looking into another's eyes as a function of our relative social position. Leonard Mlodinow eyes looking communication time I just really loved films and thought I should be writing screenplays. Leonard Mlodinow loved just thought writing I believe there is true expertise in some endeavors, and not in others. There is obviously no such thing as expertise in predicting the results of coin tosses, but there is expertise in predicting the behavior of lasers. Leonard Mlodinow true i-believe behavior believe I believe in a kind of God. I think all scientists, in a way, believe in a certain God, in a certain order of nature. Leonard Mlodinow think nature god believe In physics, all can you do is predict the consequences of physical laws. Leonard Mlodinow predict consequences you physics Evolution is among the most well-established theories in the scientific community. To doubt it sounds to biologists as absurd as denying relativity does to physicists. Leonard Mlodinow does community evolution doubt Politicians often misuse science for political ends and to pursue their own agenda. Leonard Mlodinow politicians own political science