Aldous Huxley, the great thinker and author of Brave New
World,wrote an essay in 1959 titled “Integrate Education” that is
still pertinent today. He emphasized the importance of building
bridges in knowledge and thought, and the word he mentions for
this is pontifex, or bridge-builder. It’s an interesting image to keep
in mind as we study and learn. By doing so, we increase our learn-
ing capacity to include and connect ideas and subjects that may
not specifically pertain to our area of interest, but that may serve
us well to pay attention to.
Oddly enough, as I was thinking of this situation, I was look-
ing through the February 5, 2007, issue of Timemagazine, which
featured a letter written by Huxley in 1954, under the heading of
“Classic Letter.” This letter is so right on that it could be con-
temporary. It addresses the misinterpretations by critics and the
press in their reviews, and while he admits their footnotes are
“snappy,” he goes onto say that, “Snappiness, alas, is apt to be in in-
verse ratio to accuracy.” This guy knew what he was talking about
on a variety of levels and subjects, and whether you agree with
him or not, his ideas are well presented.
We’ve all heard the saying “connect the dots.” I see it as hav-
ing enough knowledge to be ableto connect the dots in a reason-
able and informed way. The young man I interviewed could not
do this. I wasn’t asking for an in-depth review of each topic pre-
sented, but an awareness of at least what the topic was. I’ve men-
tioned before the importance of keeping up with global events on
a daily basis if you are planning to get anywhere in this world.
Considering the availability of news, blind spots can’t really be
rationalized anymore, no matter where you might be living. In-
formation is available to everyone, and if you aren’t plugging into
it, it will eventually work against you—maybe on your first inter-
view. Don’t learn this the hard way!
DONALD J. TRUMP