The Brain: The Story of You

by David Eagleman

The enemy of memory isn’t time; it’s other memories.

You don’t perceive objects as they are. You perceive them as you are.

Our perception of reality has less to do with what’s happening out there, and more to do with what’s happening inside our brain.

Everything you experience – every sight, sound, smell – rather than being a direct experience, is an electrochemical rendition in a dark theater.

eyes are not like video cameras – they simply venture out to find more details to feed into the internal model. They’re not like camera lenses that you’re seeing through; they’re gathering bits of data to feed the world inside your skull.

There’s a tiny, ancient system in the brain whose mission is to keep updating your assessments of the world. This system is made of tiny groups of cells in your midbrain that speak in the language of a neurotransmitter called dopamine.

This sort of deal between your present and future self is known as a Ulysses contract.

self-control requires energy, which means we have less energy available for the next thing we need to do. And that’s why resisting temptation, making hard decisions, or taking initiative all seem to draw from the same well of energy. So willpower isn’t something that we just exercise – it’s something we deplete.