The Rosie Effect

To the world’s most perfect woman.’ It was lucky my father was not present. Perfect is an absolute that cannot be modified, like unique or pregnant. My love for Rosie was so powerful that it had caused my brain to make a grammatical error.

But I had concluded that being myself, with all my intrinsic flaws, was more important than having the thing I wanted most.

I was suddenly angry. I wanted to shake not just Lydia but the whole world of people who do not understand the difference between control of emotion and lack of it, and who make a totally illogical connection between inability to read others’ emotions and inability to experience their own.

Rain Man! I had seen the film. I did not identify in any way with Rain Man, who was inarticulate, dependent, and unemployable. A society of Rain Men would be dysfunctional. A society of Don Tillmans would be efficient, safe, and pleasant for all of us.

Watch some kids, watch them play. You’ll see they’re just little adults, only they don’t know all the rules and tricks yet.

I thought you were happy about having a baby.’ I was happy in the way that I would be happy if the captain of an aircraft in which I was travelling announced that he had succeeded in restarting one engine after both had failed. Pleased that I would now probably survive, but shocked that the situation had arisen in the first place, and expecting a thorough investigation into the circumstances.

It is generally accepted that people enjoy surprises: hence the traditions associated with Christmas, birthdays, and anniversaries. In my experience, most of the pleasure accrues to the giver. The victim is frequently under pressure to feign, at short notice, a positive response to an unwanted object or unscheduled event.

Rationality was returning to deal with the mess that emotions had created.

Highly intelligent people are often bullied. As a result of being different. That difference being high intelligence.

Sex was absolutely not allowed to be scheduled, at least not by explicit discussion, but I had become familiar with the sequence of events likely to precipitate it: a blueberry muffin from Blue Sky Bakery, a triple shot of espresso from Otha’s, removal of my shirt, and my impersonation of Gregory Peck in the role of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird.

All of us are programmed-genetically programmed-to keep doing what's worked for us, and to avoid things that didn't work.

It was odd, paradoxical-crazy-that what Rosie seemed to value most about me, a highly organized person who avoided uncertainty and liked to plan in detail, was that my behavior generated unpredictable consequences. But if that was what she loved, I was not going to argue. What I was going to argue was that she should not abandon something she valued.

In marriage reason frequently had to take second place to Harmony

After the most basic physical requirements are satisfied, human happiness is almost independent of wealth. A meaningful job is far more important.

Greetings. My name is Don Tillman and I am a suspected paedophile. I wish to put myself on standby for an assessment.

Dishonesty was part of the price of being a social animal, and of marriage in particular.

It is generally less time-consuming to do work myself than to get involved in the paperwork required to get help.

We’re scientists,” I reminded him. “We shouldn’t be defeated by problems. If we think hard enough, a solution will present itself.

before sharing interesting information that has not been solicited, think carefully about whether it has the potential to cause distress.

There was an extraordinary amount to process, and my brain was now functioning normally, or at least int the manner that I was accustomed to. The meltdown was perhaps the psychological equivalent of a reboot following an overload.

Unlike the stereotypical wedding dress, it was—to use a technical term—elegant, like a computer algorithm that achieved an impressive outcome with just a few lines of code.

I accepted that I was wired differently than most people, or, more precisely, that my wiring was toward one end of a spectrum of different human configurations. My innate logical skills were significantly greater than my interpersonal skills.

After the most basic physical requirements are satisfied, human happiness is almost independent of wealth. A meaningful job is far more important

Hate causes distress, potentially leading to mental and physical health problems. Adolescents

I had become accustomed to being woken, and generally managed to fall asleep again within a few minutes. But the aggregate effect could not be ignored and I was forced to reschedule my bedtime to thirteen minutes earlier.

Rosie squeezed my hand very tightly, as though to earn some hand-holding credits,

You know something? On their deathbed, nobody ever wishes they’d spent more time at the office.’ It

Do you want this marriage to work or not?’ she said. ‘My spreadsheet identified –’ I interpreted Sonia’s expression as I don’t want to hear about your fucking spreadsheet. Do you, emotionally, as a whole mature person, want to live the rest of your life with Rosie and the Baby Under Development or are you going to let a computer make that decision for you, you pathetic geek? ‘Work. But I don’t think –’ ‘You think too much. Take her out to dinner and talk it over.

We’re scientists,’ I reminded him. ‘We shouldn’t be defeated by problems. If we think hard enough, a solution will present itself.

Her name's Inge," said David. "She's Lithuanian.