 What helps Houlihan to focus more intently on his own problem?
A one-time Air Force officer, he has turned to fantasy in his lighter moments, to bring us such brightly sparkling little gems as this. houlihan's equation by ... But its small, mischievous pilots had a rendezvous with destiny—on Earth. Perhaps you had better take my word for it that without this equation—correctly stated, mind you—mankind would be well advised not to make a first trip to the moon. And all this talk of coefficients and equations sits strangely, you might say, upon the tongue of a man named Kevin Francis Houlihan. "And mine's Houlihan, as I've told you. "Mr. Houlihan," said Keech, drawing a kind of peppered dignity up about himself, "in such matters I am never fully convinced.
 collaborating with the leprechauns, who speak his same language
 collaborating with the leprechauns, who speak his same language  imagining the pot of gold that awaits him if he is able to solve the equation  being outdoors, where his creativity is stimulated  venturing outside of the Center, where he is not worried about competition among colleagues