I think there is something pathetic about an author who laughs aloud at his own jokes, but, darned if this did not make me laugh. It is one of my favorite passages.
John C. Wright is a practicing philosopher, a retired attorney, newspaperman, and newspaper editor, and a published author of science fiction. Once a Houyhnhnm, he was expelled from the august ranks of purely rational beings when he fell in love; but retains an honorary title.