For the armchair philosopher—a label worn somewhat proudly by many of us—there are few experiences more humbling than an encounter with a genuine philosopher. In our ongoing effort to identify classmates we haven’t seen for years, we recently connected with Brian O’Connor, a professor and philosopher of information at the University of North Texas. Our initial call interrupted a conversation he was having with one of his doctoral candidates, and in our interview we learned that he has supervised more Ph.D.s in information science than anyone else on the planet. His increasingly relevant discipline deals with “the philosophical analysis of the notion of information from both historical and systematic perspectives.” Think for a moment about our Dartmouth libraries and how someone must categorize and classify that much knowledge. How are we able to find what we’re looking for at the massive Library of Congress, or the Smithsonian? What is “information” and how is it managed? Ask Brian! His love of teaching keeps him not only quite busy, but he is also quite passionate about “supporting students and their ideas, whether those ideas ultimately work or not.” The halls of Russell Sage must have been a lively place for Brian’s late-night bull sessions with suitemates Ken Furie, Henry Todd, and Bob Garrett. His career includes a lifetime love of images and film, and he’s created a lot of them. He and Irena (also an academic philosopher and department chair) have two sons, and their adopted State of Texas is proud of them. A Greek and Roman studies major, Brian told us that looking back he would not change majors. “While I didn’t pursue graduate work in the field, learning to do close reading and careful translation has served me well as a philosopher of information—in fact, in my latest book I included a poem by Catullus. The art and archaeology components of the major, together with the work of the avant-garde neoteric poets, were at the foundation of my graduate work in film production.” Like we said: Visiting with a genuine philosopher is definitely a humbling experience. Responses about changing majors also came from Richard Saunders, Peter Schaeffer, Peter Elias, Dick Glovsky, Greg Dobbs, Bruce Alpert, Rick Willets, Steve Larson, Bob Garman, Arthur Fergenson, Tim Means, Al Gordon, Ted Adams, and others. (Apologies if I missed you!). Almost every respondent said he would not switch. John Mathias and family joined us for a “Casual Conversation” about wife Julie’s impressive and renowned art, and she took up brush and canvas to demonstrate her techniques. Peter Elias has reworked our busy class website, and it’s a masterpiece. Look there for latest updates. “Casual Conversations” with fascinating guests continue on Zoom. Play readings, recovery meetings, book discussions, and movie nights are still going strong. Send us news and views!

—John “Tex” Talmadge, 3519 Brookline Lane, Farmers Branch, TX 75234; (214) 673-9250; johntalmadgemd@gmail.com