Well, Arthur, I do have to admit that it gets boring, sometimes - posting these columns and getting next to nothing in response, nothing I can begin to rebut, that is. Even the opportunity to argue affords a certain pleasure, if for no other reason than to indicate that what I'm writing is, at least, being read, albeit not necessarily being believed.

Ideas are insidious creatures. That's why he's so afraid of them, after all. Once you get an idea in someone's head, it's deuced hard to get it back out.

Of course, that's the same problem I'm facing in reverse! Oh, well. One step at a time.

Your boy got scared off quickly enough, when I mentioned indirect consequences. Perhaps it's a good sign that his experiment over the summer hasn't left him completely unaffected?