Date: 1979

" But they can be sent along the usual channels […] until at some critical point, a "mental faucet" is closed, preventing them from actually being carried out."

— Hofstadter, Douglas (b. 1945)

Date: 1981

"If one must use metaphorical language, then let the metaphor be this: the mind and the world jointly make up the mind and the world. (Or, to make the metaphor even more Hegelian, the Universe makes up the Universe--with minds--collectively--playing a special role in the making up.)"

— Putnam, Hilary (b. 1926)

Date: March 11, 1982

''The mind is like a parachute -- it only functions when it's open."

— Duncan, Amy

Date: 1984

"That whole private mythology, in which I believe totally, is a collaboration between one's conscious mind and those obsessions that, one by one, present themselves as stepping-stones."

— Ballard, J. G. (1930-2009)

Date: 1984

"I suppose people--certainly imaginative writers--who consciously exploit their own obsessions do so in part because those obsessions lie like stepping-stones in front of them, and their feet are drawn towards them."

— Ballard, J. G. (1930-2009)

Date: 1984

"Imagination is the shortest route between any two conceivable points, and more than equal to any physical rearrangement of the brain's functions."

— Ballard, J. G. (1930-2009)

Date: September 29, 1985

"My father used to say, 'Your mind is like a parachute. If it won't open when you need it, it is not much good.' I have an open mind."

— Wilson, George C.

Date: 1988

"Just as a cake recipe requires you to use flour, sugar, and baking powder in the right amounts, your brain needs a fine chemical balance."

— Anonymous

Date: November 22, 1990

"One is not an immaterial soul, floating around in a machine."

— Sacks, Oliver (b. 1933)

Date: 1993

"Your mind, I tell graduates, is a lot like a parachute--it won't help you much if it doesn't open when you need it."

— Crowe, William J. (1925-2007)