Allen’s contribution was to taken an assumption we all share——that because we are not robots we therefore control our thoughts——and reveal its erroneous nature.

while we may be able to sustain the illusion of control through the conscious mind alone, in reality we are continually faced with a question: “why cannot I make myself do this or achieve that?”

This seems a justification for neglect of those in need, and rationalization of exploitation, of the superiority of those at the top and the inferiority of those at the bottom.

circumstances seem to be designed to bring out the best in us, and if we feel that we have been “wronged” then we are unlikely to begin a conscious effort to escape from our situation.

The upside is the possibilities contained in knowing that everything is up us; where before we were experts in the array of limitations, now we become authorities of what is possible.