One of my colleagues must have the IQ of Einstein if the saying about cluttered desks being a sign of genius is true. Great mounds of paper have risen up on either side of his computer screen and, as well as obscuring him from view, they are now tottering to the extent that I fear an instant and inescapable avalanche should the long-expected serious earthquake shake us here in San Francisco

The piles of paper continue on desktops behind him, and manila folders stuffed with notes and book chapters have begun to spread over the carpet in a pincer movement, threatening to cut him off from the rest of the office.