A college professor presented his class syllabus on the first day of the new semester. He pointed out that there were three papers to be written during the term, and he showed on which days those assign­ments had to be handed in. He said that these dates were firmly fixed, and that no student should presume that the deadline did not apply to her or him. He asked if the students were clear about this, and all heads nodded.

When the first deadline arrived, all but one student turned in their papers. The one student went to the professor’s office and pleaded for more time — just a single day! The student spoke of illness and hard­ships, which had prevented him from completing the assignment, but all the research was finished, and a few more hours would allow the paper to be ready. The profes…