I was watching the West Wing last night, and I had previously heard that Christopher Lloyd was going to have a guest appearance. They introduced him in the story as Lawrence Lessig, and I did a double take, wondering if that’s what they had said. Then when they introduced him to the president, Bartlett says “The Future Of Ideas?”, and I said “Hah! It is him”. I read The Future Of Ideas in the summer of 03, and have been reading from Lessig’s blog ever since. That was fun. I love that show.

Lawrence Lessig: West Wing Lessons

Lots of speculation and fantastic praise about the West Wing gig. It was a hoot to watch. But in two seconds (I’m late for a meeting) let me put this in perspective.

The story is based (loosely) upon a true story. I was involved in the drafting of one early version of the Georgian constitution. But the story ended up in the West Wing because I told the story to my students in Constitutional Law at Harvard, and a current writer for the West Wing was in that class.

And so is “fame” made: My story is on the West Wing because I was at Harvard — not because the brilliance of my intervention had been noted and reviewed, but because I was teaching talented kids who would prove to be important.