The “scary” part of Ted K’s “scary brilliant” personae is totally due to him being a psychopath. I’ve known my share of mathematicians more accomplished than TK who were pussycats outside the classroom. Maryland had a very friendly and supportive faculty who always could make you feel okay after a rough day. (As a student at that level you’re either brilliant yourself or else fighting like hell to keep your head above water. Took me eleven years, every day was desperation. The other day I was cleaning out my home office and I found my textbook for my first class at Maryland, I got a 25/100 on my first exam, realized that day that Maryland > Tennessee the same way Penn State Football > Buffalo, I wasn’t in Kansas anymore.)