The Worst of Times

If only I was born in ancient China. Having studied the classics and erudites, I could have taken the civil examinations and become at least a lowly-ranked official at the county level. Professions of medicine, engineering, and the sciences enjoyed a low social status and value. Business was deemed mercenary and too pragmatic for its own good, with merchants being condemned as corrupt and unscrupulous. My discipline could have rendered myself useful in the eyes of the state and scholarly elite. Now? Times have changed. In my disfavour. The sun has set below the horizon.