He is trying to decide which of two daydreams he will inhabit.

A definition is death. A definition is the answer to which you must look up the question in the back of your book.

The passage of time is a continuing thing. At 18, youre going to live forever, and you are definitely not at 52, so that is a recurring topic. I still think its the main stuff.

Actually I think Art lies in both directions - the broad strokes, big picture but on the other hand the minute examination of the apparently mundane. Seeing the whole world in a grain of sand, that kind of thing.

He is trying to decide which of two daydreams he will inhabit.

I had then and still retain an interest in science for its own sake and as a metaphor for our current lives.

The crucial question one comes back to is the examination; without that experience is meaningless. And I think it's true that society is becoming more and more passive, less and less fired up with enthusiasm, in many spheres.