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understanding understanding and not wasting his time just answering questions about Spinoza and Kant, just so he could get an A that would impress others.
    So, Max turned to Professor Fox and spoke.
    â€œYes, I think you’re right. Probably best that I skip the exam for the moment. Thank you, sir.”
    With that he headed out of the lecture hall.
    ***
    As he left the building, he mulled over the details of his paper, and enthusiasm grew within him. He bumped into his sociology professor, Eugenio Rodriguez. Bubbling over with his revelation and anxious to share, Max stopped him and began to talk enthusiastically.
    â€œI’ve just figured out Whitehead’s modes of thought, and have uncovered the secret to ‘understanding understanding,’” he said rapidly.
    Taken by the young man’s enthusiasm, Professor Rodriguez was intrigued, and he adopted the role of devil’s advocate.
    â€œWill that understanding get us to the Moon or allow us to solve any of our current social problems ? ” he asked.
    Max hesitated for a moment and then, coming from a level of abstraction that suggested that those who refused to limit themselves to the human system could accomplish anything, he cheerily replied.
    â€œI need to think about it a little more, but I think it will address those issues and more!”
    â€œKeep thinking, then,” Professor Rodriguez replied, “and let me know what you come up with.” With that, he continued into the building.
    Intrigued by the professor’s suggestion, Max decided a walk in the fresh January air would help him sort out his thoughts. With the sound of snow crunching under his every step, he began to contemplate the varied applications of “A is and is not A” and what “understanding understanding” might really mean to each and every human on the planet.
    There could be practical applications. The law of impenetrability that stated that no two objects could exist in the same place at the same time might no longer always be true. This would alter the nature of physics and might allow the development of new technologies that could overcome the limitations of the speed of light and other constants, resulting in great advances in space travel and the colonization of other planets.
    The realization of “A is and is not A” changed the parameters for all logic, and the conclusions that purely logical theory could provide. The realization changed the axioms upon which general mathematics were based, and thus would have an impact on all hard scientific investigations.
    Max’s mind started spinning.
    It could be the answer to our very existence . . . our life’s purpose, he mused. We’re all connected and not just in superficial ways.
    As he contemplated these concepts he was approached by Professor Fox, who revealed that he had been searching for Max. The professor looked him in the eye with both admiration and trepidation.
    â€œYour paper is brilliant, Max, but I’m not sure I understand it,” he said. “I’ve asked Gordon Howell, the graduate student in charge of your philosophy section, to take a look at it.
    â€œHe wants to see you in the dean’s office as soon as possible.”
    ***
    â€œThis doesn’t make sense to me,” Gordon Howell said sharply. “I don’t understand your thesis at all. You state that somehow feelings must be part of any left-brain, analytical analysis. This is neither logical nor practical.”
    He looked Max straight in the eye.
    â€œAnd you seem very angry—angry not only with Yale and your instructors and fellow students, but with all of humanity.”
    â€œYou’re missing the point,” Max said, exasperation entering his voice. “I’m angry with the hypocrisy of this institution, not the institution itself. There is much at Yale that is wonderful, but I’m talking about the highest levels of truth. You need to reread my