The Sphere

Once I was asked by a man, affectionately known as 'The Bear' whether I wanted to hold the most spherical object in the world. What could I say? Of course, I thought, who wouldn't?

I had to face him, as he was completely deaf. I said yes. This great hulk of a man reached into a transparent box and removed a sphere, a wonderful, shiny, glass sphere. He placed it in my hands.

I stood there, as motionless as I could. This was a truly spherical object, in fact it was the most spherical object in the world. Only, it wasn't a sphere. The Bear had an instrument that could measure the tiny element of asymmetry caused by the gravitational pull of the earth. So there I was, standing on a hillside in Wales with the most spherical object in the world, only it wasn't a sphere.

I learned an important lesson that day. You can be the most honest person in the world but that doesn't mean that you are entirely honest.

This, of course, is the truth.

I nearly held a perfect sphere.