The Rosie Project (Don Tillman, #1)

by Graeme Simsion

Why do we focus on certain things at the expense of others? We will risk our lives to save a person from drowning, yet not make a donation that could save dozens of children from starvation.

We are genetically programmed to react to stimuli in our immediate vicinity. Responding to complex issues that we cannot perceive directly requires the application of reasoning, which is less powerful than instinct.

Research has shown that creativity is enhanced when performing straightforward mechanical tasks such as jogging, cooking, and driving. Unobstructed thinking time is always useful.

Then, in this vanishingly small moment in the history of the universe, she took my hand, and held it all the way to the subway.

it dawned on me that I had not designed the questionnaire to find a woman I could accept but to find someone who might accept me.

“If you really love someone,” Claudia continued, “you have to be prepared to accept them as they are. Maybe you hope that one day they get a wake-up call and make the changes for their own reasons.”

And how could I be sure that other people were not doing the same—playing the game to be accepted but suspecting all the time that they were different?

My feelings for her could not be explained by logic.