" Distillation of Wisdom" It was a phrase I first encountered in the introduction to a fifty year old edition of "Ivanhoe": "Sir Walter Scott was one of those few writers who possessed the distillation of wisdom ...." (italics added) There is no accounting for perspective, or, at the very least, there is no benefit that justifies the effort behind such inquiries as will put people's varied perspectives....into perspective! For me, the diversity in perspectives is one of those triggers of happy philosophic reveries so frequently found in art and science, in much the same capacity as a David Attenborough program showcasing biodiversity. It is this consideration that reduces the cogency of any single-minded argument made in social discourse. Multiple perspectives always help. And so, arbitrarily, we look at the "distillation of wisdom" perspective. History is often told as the story of men with different affinities toward "
The genesis of a significant scientific idea is a miracle- the gradual increase in clarity from the fog to the realisation that the truth was as obvious as day. This is a wonderful anti-climax, and anyone who has experienced it will be find Holmes' illustration in "The Dancing Men" uncanny: Holmes had been seated for some hours in silence with his long, thin back curved over a chemical vessel in which he was brewing a particularly malodorous product. His head was sunk upon his breast, and he looked from my point of view like a strange, lank bird, with dull gray plumage and a black top-knot. "So, Watson," said he, suddenly, "you do not propose to invest in South African securities?" I gave a start of astonishment. Accustomed as I was to Holmes's curious faculties, this sudden intrusion into my most intimate thoughts was utterly inexplicable. "How on earth do you know that?" I asked. He wheeled round upon his