Over beers a colleague raised my eyebrows by beginning a sentence with, “So I walked in the Oval Office…” like walking in the Oval Office was just a casual thing everyone does at some point. It turns out he acted as a science advisor for two Presidents. And not just a meeting with a cabinet member here or there, but regular meetings lasting more than an hour.

I decided to think of some of the brushes with serious greatness I’ve had. I don’t know if the following list is bragging or not, since I didn’t do any of those things. To the extent we are the average of the people we know, it says something about me.

• One guy I know met regularly with two Presidents—Ford and Carter—as a science advisor
• One guy I know (and sang karaoke with) won an Oscar
• At least one guy I know met Albert Einstein
• I work with a four-time Olympian
• I’ve met four Nobel Prize winners (Melvin Schwartz, T.D. Lee, Joseph Stiglitz, Richard Axel)
• I danced next to a President’s daughter at a friend’s party and might have said a few words to her
• A guy I knew worked with the Rolling Stones, the Doors, and Igor Stravinsky
• A guy I know works with Ornette Coleman

Edit: I’ve since met

• A Presidential Medal of Freedom awardee
• Two Brigadier Generals
• A 4-star General
• A guy whose wife is the United States president’s personal assistant, who has been in his jet many times
• A 3-time NBA champion (and 2-time coach of basketball teams that reached the finals)
• A Fields Medal winner
• Another Nobel Prize winner (Beatrice Fihn)

• ← Hustlers and clowns
• Judging doesn’t annoy people. Imposing values on others does. →