[irremediable]

Poignant, but IMO not insightful. You could interpret this any way you please.

I'm especially pissed off by the way he mentions the anti-depressant medication bottle as a sign of failure. Maybe the professor would have been far more depressed if he hadn't been working on awesome new ideas. Maybe he would have been depressed either way. How is the empty bottle a sign of failure? He sought treatment for his mental health problems. If you scorn that, you're a coward, and I attach very little weight to your opinions on how to live.

[monk_e_boy]

I didn't read that as a sign of failure. I thought the author hit the nail on the head - they guy achieved more than us, but spent his latter years just cruising. I didn't read any malice into it, more a whimsical melancholy.

If I ever get an office (99% unlikely) I'm sure it will be the same as my cubicle. A photo of the wife and kids, my coffee mug, some hidden postits with passwords on... I mean, who gives a shit? It's space to work after all, nothing more.

[PhantomGremlin]

The "anti-depressants" are mentioned in the sentence following this one:

   And you see pictures of a little girl —
   the daughter you know died tragically young.

I've never taken an anti-depressant in my life. But if one of my daughters died I'd certainly consider it.