For the record, I stopped updating my curriculum vitae three years ago. I was 60 then, and, already, I asked myself what the point of it all was. I could have added a long list of cyberspace publications, presentations, speeches, workshops, and conferences, but I looked at my family members and friends, and saw that none of them were interested in constructing their own curricula. The people I love are not concerned with immortality--why, then, should I be?

Similarly, I lost my enthusiasm to pursue a Ph.D. in anything. I looked at former classmates who are now presidents, deans, and department chairpersons, and what did I see? I saw that, while their knowledge was their happiness, their knowledge was also their loneliness.