Simulation

Let's talk about love. How does love rewire the brain? When we meet somebody new and exciting, they invade our synapses like a virus, triggering neurochemicals that feed into attraction, arousal, even obsession. We get distracted. We think about that special someone all the time, even in the middle of a brilliantly stimulating lecture. But we're not just thinking about them. We're building an internal model, a simulation that helps us predict what they'll think or how they'll feel. Of course, relationships get into trouble when simulation meets reality, which begs the question: Do we ever really fall in love with another person or just with our idea of who they are?

Why do we bother with relationships? Neuropsychiatrists say that we're hardwired to crave intimate connections. We long for love. Of course, the reality is, it usually ends in heartache, leaving our delicate psyches bruised, if not completely shattered. Why do we even bother playing those odds? I guess because we only have to get it right once. And when it's right, we know it. Even the memory of a fulfilling relationship can sustain us, and remind us that although we may be feeling down at this particular moment, we're never truly alone.

- Dr. Daniel Pierce in Perception - 2x02 - Alienation

Normal

What is normal? If you feel sad, do you just have a case of the blues, or are you suffering from a neurochemical imbalance? The vast majority of the case studies we've been looking at involve patients whose brains are anything but normal, and there's no question they suffer. But...is it all bad? For some, their neurological states might actually protect them from painful truths that no one would want to think about. Others develop a cheerful disposition that may help them cope with situations the rest of us would find disturbing. And if we are to establish a baseline, then we also have to ask ourselves how the brains of even so called "normal" people respond to certain stimuli. And if we're able to treat those people living with neurological disorders, restore them to "normalcy," well of course we're helping them. But might we sometimes also be stripping away what makes them unique? Robbing them of an essential part of who they are?

- Dr. Daniel Pierce in Perception - 1x01 - Pilot

Do Something

You will be shocked, kids, when you discover how easy it is in life to part ways with people forever. That's why when you find someone you want to keep around, you do something about it.

- Ted in How I Met Your Mother - 9x21 - Gary Blauman

Regret

...the deepest, most painful regret of them all: the regret that comes from letting something amazing pass you by.

- Voiceover in Grey's Anatomy - 10x13 - Take It Back

Now

Seize the time, Meribor. Live now. Make now always the most precious time. Now will never come again.

- Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation - 5x25 - The Inner Light

Who Else

Who else are you going to fight with if not your friends?

- Lwuxana Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation - 5x20 - Cost of Living

Too Late

Laren: "Well, you're not like any bartender I ever met before."
Guinan: "And you're not like any Starfleet officer I've ever met before. But that sounds like the beginning of a very interesting friendship."
Laren: "I don't stay anywhere long enough to make friends."
Guinan: "Too late. You already did."

- Star Trek: The Next Generation - 5x03 - Ensign Ro