The Forces that Shape the Earth: Neptunism Versus Plutonism

When I was a graduate student, the “geoclub” at my American university had a T-shirt that read “no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end.” As an Italian, and somewhat bohemian, expat, I had a tendency to quickly leave the institute after my (many) hours of research work, and I didn’t really take part in the geoclub activities. It felt like one of those American things. Why would I want to spend time with my work colleagues, if friendships didn’t just develop naturally? (which they did, in some cases, and then I would hang out with those friends away from the lab, in alternative clubs and parties involving “independent” music and everything that comes with it.