The condition of a man who had been in a mental home for some years finally seemed to have improved to the point where he was being considered for realease. Before allowing him to go, however, the hospital chief wanted to find out how he was likely to adapt to the outside world.
"Tell me," said the medic, "if we realease you - and all the reports indicate that you are now completely sane - what do you intend to do with your life?"
The inmate said: "It would be wonderful to get back to real life and if I do, I will certainly refrain from making the same mistakes as before. I was a nuclear physicist, you know, and it was the stress of my work in weapon research that helped put me here. If I am released, I shall confine my work to pure theory, where I trust the situation will be less stressful."
"Marvellous," said the hospital chief.
"Or else," continued the inmate, "I might teach. There is something to be said for spending one's life bringing up a new generation of scientists."
"Absolutely," echoed the chief enthusiastically.
"Then again, I might write. There is a considerable need for books on science for the general public. Or I might even make a bovel based on my experiences in this fine institution."
"An interesting possiblity," agreed the hospital chief.
"Or, if none of those things appeal to me," mused the inmate, "I can always carry on my life as a teapot."