College had little effect on me. I'd have been the same writer if I'd gone to MIT, except I'd have flunked out sooner.

It's tempting to say the Ph.D. didn't have an effect, but it's not so. I think whatever resonance I may be able to achieve is in part simply from the amount of reading and learning that I acquired along the way.

Well, you give me too much credit for foresight and planning. I haven't got a clue what the hell I'm doing.

It did not occur to me that I might be a writer until I flunked out of my first year as a chemistry major, and found work as an apprentice writer of Volkswagen ads.

That's correct, I flunked out of high school twice because I couldn't write.

In retrospect we should have gone to the public much sooner than we did.