One of my favorite things about human nature is that people are interested in such different things. No matter how improbable a subject seems to me, people have written books about it, studied it, pursued it in their careers, go to conferences about it. And I love the fact that people can be quite passionate about something that wouldn’t be appealing to me. I’ve never forgotten being at a friend’s birthday party, and talking to a woman I’d never met before. She mentioned that she had recently gone through a big career transition. “What was that?” I asked. “I left my job as a lawyer to go to history grad school to study the Scottish Enlightenment.” Then, clearly trying not to appear too braggy, she added modestly, “It’s not as glamorous as it sounds.” I laughed with delight when I heard that. Really, it’s not as glamorous as it sounds? Clearly she thought I would be eaten up with envy upon hearing what she was doing. It made me so happy to encounter someone so excited about what she was doing, that she literally couldn’t imagine that everyone wouldn’t have the same reaction. I love the fact that people are interested in such different things.