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Dear Doctor Science,

How come when I laugh real hard, I cry?

-- Herb Sussman from Palo Alto, CA

There is a thin line between laughter and tears, between joy and grief. Extreme emotion can push you
through that veil, or over the edge, as I like to think of it. I'll never forget those times I've gone over the edge,
times when I holed up in a little motel room on the edge of some obscure Midwestern city. There I'd sit in the
middle of the day, watching Hollywood Squares on a twenty year old TV, holding onto a bottle and what was left of my
sanity.
Yes, I remember those times, and I sympathize. Those were the days I'd make collect calls to Carl
Sagan just to hear him refuse to accept the charges. Those were the days I thought everyone was out to get
me, and I've found out since then that I was often right. You can have those days, Herb, along with your
laughter and your tears. I feel nothing now. I am a rock. I am an island. I am a scientist.