Question Asking

In the development of intelligence nothing can be more "basic" than learning how to ask productive questions.  All our knowledge results from questions, which is another way of saying that question-asking is our most important intellectual tool.

-- Neil Postman (1931 - 2003), American author, educator, media theorist, and cultural critic, Language Education in a Knowledge Context (1980) published in ETC Vol. 37 (1980)

Inexhaustible Source

A mind which has once imbibed a taste for scientific inquiry, and has learnt the habit of applying its principles readily to the cases which occur, has within itself an inexhaustible source of pure and exciting contemplations.

-- Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet (1792 - 1871), English polymath active as a mathematician, astronomer, chemist, inventor, and experimental photographer, A Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy (1831)

Qualms

To be capable of embarrassment is the beginning of moral consciousness.  Honor grows from qualms.

-- John Leonard (1939 - 2008), American literary, TV, film and cultural critic, Private Lives in the Imperial City (1979) "On Being Embarrassed" (p. 140)

A Child's Understanding

We're marching through the world, we're cleaning out the bad guys, we're gonna have relationships with new people that will make us prosperous and safe.  I've never seen anything, anybody like it, this is Ronald Reagan plus.  Donald Trump is resetting the world in a way nobody could've dreamed of a year ago, he is the greatest commander in chief of all time, our military is the best of all time, Iran is going down, and Cuba is next.

-- Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), gleefully celebrating chaos on Fox News (9 March 2026), showing a child's understanding of foreign affairs

Political Capital

Political capital refers to the trust, goodwill, and influence that an individual or group has in the political arena.  It is an intangible asset that can be built through relationships, credibility, and public support, allowing individuals or organizations to leverage their position to achieve political goals.  Political capital is crucial for mobilizing resources, gaining support for initiatives, and influencing policy decisions.

-- Definition of "Political Capital" at AP Human Geography Review from Fiveable 

Your Marionette

Imagine you were Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping and you woke up a year ago having magically been given command of puppet strings that control the White House.  Your explicit geopolitical goal is to undermine trust in the United States on the world stage.  You want to destroy the Western rules-based order that has preserved peace and security for 80 years, which allowed the US to triumph as an economic superpower and beacon of hope and innovation for the world.  What exactly would you do differently with your marionette other than enact the ever more reckless agenda that Donald Trump has pursued since he became president last year?

-- Garrett M. Graff (born 1981), American journalist and author, "We Are Witnessing the Self-Immolation of a Superpower" at wired.com (22 January 2026)

Dangerous For The Strong

The absence of any obstacle to the deployment of strength is dangerous for the strong themselves: passion takes precedence over reason.  "No power without limit can be legitimate," as Montesquieu wrote long ago.  Political wisdom does not consist in seeking only immediate victory, nor does it require systematic preference of "us" over "them."

-- Tzvetan Todorov (1939 - 2017), Bulgarian-French historian, philosopher, and essayist, Hope and Memory: Reflections on the Twentieth Century (2003), preface to the English edition (October 2002), p. xxi