Ed Witten - the Benchmark

Eminent Physicist A. Zee has written a textbook: "Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell". In the preface of this book, I read this:

"This book began as a course I taught at Princeton as a beginning Asst. Prof. I was greatly fortunate to have had Ed Witten as my Teaching Assistant. Ed produced brilliant and lucidly written solutions for the problems - so much so that next year, I went and complained to the Chairman: 'Something is seriously wrong with the TA I have this year. He is not half as good as the guy I had last year!' "

I am not well-informed enough to guess the identity of the TA who suffers thus in comparison with Witten. But Zee's remark did remind me of something...

Cut to a time much closer to the present than when Witten was just a promising TA - indeed, to a time when he has already been anointed the Number One Mathematical Physicist in the World; to a time when this blogger was a graduate student of Physics.

While at Grad School, I am passionate about Physics - but this is often insufficient to get me past technicalities pertaining to the way it is practised in Indian Academia. During those days of struggle...

A holiday. I begin my solitary breakfast at our canteen. Hardly anybody about. A much senior (to self) colleague (let me refer to him as Camillo (*) ) makes an entry, looks around awkwardly at the empty tables and finally plants himself opposite to self. Some inanities are exchanged (and we reach the coffee stage of the meal) and he makes his first serious move.

Camillo: "So how is WORK?"
Self (a bit rattled on hearing the dreaded 4-lettered word): "Trying..."
Camillo: "Since when? Don't you think you ought to be getting results by now?"
Self: "Well, I dunno; have been trying..."
Camillo: "But, look at your contemporaries. --- and ---; have they not got papers by now?"
Self: "I guess so. Perhaps a couple each."
Camillo: "You *still* feel confident you too can manage? ... Can I give you some free advice?? (there is an ominous pause) You have some basics seriously wrong. You can't be in Physics if you are uncomfortable with Math and don't want to do calculations! Like,.... If I compare you with ---, "
Self (interrupting): "Look! can you please cut out those comparisons? I have no problems with criticism but personal comparisons...."
Camillo (interrupting back): "Oh, yeah, I am very sorry! You feel belittled by being compared with ...locals. Perhaps I should compare you with, well, WITTEN? That might just about satisfy you, eh??"

---
* - I decided to give latin name to this gent, as a tip of the hat to RK Narayan, who chose 'Marco' for the frigid archeologist in 'Guide'. I considered options ranging from 'Quasimodo' to 'Romeo' but finally settled on Camillo - a name with less interpretative possibilities and literary connotations.