My mind has a remarkable ability to distance itself from bad news. A small example: Once I was driving a colleague to a conference when I suddenly heard a roaring, whirring sound. I thought it was coming from overhead and said to my companion: “What’s that? It sounds like a helicopter right above us!” He looked at me and said: “Uh, no - one of your tires just blew. Better pull over.”

That was a little embarrassing, and I kept wondering how I could possibly come up with such a fantastic...