Michael Renton GS ’16 appreciates your comment and, more than anything, the fact that you feel that his 10:30 a.m. Friday section is a safe place to air your opinion. He has seen such good work from you so far this semester and the observation you just made aloud about this week’s reading is indicative of exactly the sort of go-getter attitude he’s learned to love and expect from you.

But you are wrong here. He’s sorry, but it’s true. And it is his unfortunate duty as a University teaching assistant and Patrick G. Clarke research fellow to give detailed, nuanced explanation as to why what you just said is totally without basis. He takes no joy in this. Let him break it down like this:

First of all, he is in his fifth year of doctoral study which fact may not be totally relevant to the question at hand but believe him, he’s been around the proverbial block a few proverbial times and he’s seen this sort of mistake made again and again by people smarter than yourself. Sure. When intuitively considered, he sees how one could think that what you believe to be the case is, in fact the case.

Renton is sorry he had to take up valuable class time to address your remark. But you didn’t really leave him that option, did you?

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