The assignment sounded forbidding. The final project for the colloquial sem inar in philosophy appeared in my hands three weeks before the end of the spring semester, 1973. Though it was straightforward enough, selecting the dozen most influential individuals in history and defending the choices was a task this college sophomore found at once both onerous and intriguing. The professor did not really expect college students to come up with twelve names and defend them, did he? He did.
