William James had good reason to be nervous when he turned up, back in 1869, to be examined for his Harvard medical degree: he had spent most of the previous three years abroad. But as luck would have it, his examiner turned out to be Oliver Wendell Holmes, an old family friend. Dr Holmes asked the candidate a single question and, when young William answered it correctly, drew the event to a close: "That's enough! If you know that, you must know everything. Now tell me, how is your dear old father?"
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