The second examination is for a woodman’s badge. To pass, he is required to light a fire, using no paper and striking no more than three matches.

I'm not stalking you, she said, with all the sincerity of a pod person in The Body Snatchers.

Some of the most beautiful and thus appealing physical theories, including quantum electrodynamics and quantum gravity, have been dogged for decades by infinities that erupt when theorists try to prod their calculations into new domains. Getting rid of these nagging infinities has probably occupied far more effort than was spent in originating the theories.

The Big Apple is a common nickname for New York City.