At dinner tonight, we had a long and heated conversation over the topic of teleology--over whether, in other words, we live in a purposeful universe.
When a student of 19 or 20 writes, in a paper about a horrible event that happened to him or her, "There's a reason for everything!", I just want to pat him or her on the head and say, "Ah, that's so CUTE."
When I hear anyone over the age of forty say the same thing, I want to knock him or her over the head and say, "Idiot."
