An Academic Nursery Rhyme There was an old scholar who lived in a shoe he applied for some grants that didn’t come through He revised all of physics invented a serum provided a proof of Fermat’s last theorem He wandered down paths wherever they led he did not leave footprints but footnotes instead He focused on details what others had said splitting the hairs that grew on his head He flew to a conference out over the sea he recorded it all in a book-length CV On his way back he went for a float the floor struck a leak…