Noah Feldman writes about what it takes to join his field: “To teach constitutional law, you need a vision about where our country has been and where we need to go in the future. You must be able to confront our darkest moments — slavery, segregation, forced sterilization — while preserving your optimism about the moments when we have expanded rights and liberties and lived up to our aspirations. . . .” Etc.

None of this is necessary. What is necessary is a finely honed sense of the absurd.