One of my favorite Shakespearian lines comes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream when Puck says to his Lord, “What fools these mortals be.” (Act iii, Scene 2.)  He spoke at a time before psychiatry existed, and no one had coined the term cognitive dissonance disorder.  

I e-mailed a friend, a former student of mine, the other day as we hadn’t communicated for a while. Naturally, I asked how he was and the answer came back just as I had hoped. He was fine. His family was fine. His job was fine. He added that he was reacquainting himself with the pia