The reason the lights shimmers and changes in iridescence is that tiny holes that are exactly the wavelength of light being reflected, ... right now the size of chips is as small as it can be using lenses. The trouble is, as you go to higher wavelengths, the glass absorbs the light. The solution is to use mirrors, which will reflect most wavelengths until you get up into x-rays.

216

For the last 10 years, it's been gathering in popularity. You don't need to get drunk to have a good time socially. It's a good place to gather. It's a very positive thing that coffee is popular. It's a way to study in a pleasant environment.

191

[Not even other species are immune to the mirror's attraction.] They're now thinking that dolphins, as well as humans and higher apes, can recognize themselves in mirrors, ... One of the ways they figured this out was that dolphins like to have sex in front of mirrors. When they drift out of [eyesight] they stop the action and move back in front of the mirror.

119

I would say that all the themes of the book are there from the beginning, including the individual, the social, magic, religion, and also science.

83