This is the age of the slogan, the soundbite, the snappy phrase in place of considered argument. Thought is dying; reason’s gone critical. In bookshops and magazine racks we’re told only what we want to hear: we’re told it in neat, bullet-pointed affirmations of our own worth.

No more. This is the fightback. The resuscitation. This is the slogan as explainer of the world. One a day for a year. Three hundred and sixty five phrases, soundbites and bullet points with which to make sense of the way things are now and point to how things could be tomorrow. Read them and weep.


Sunday

22. Wisdom begins in wonder

A Socratic way of saying that we should approach learning like our children do. Children want to learn – teach me, they scream, what have you got? Give me more! Knowledge, all knowledge, is the goal. And knowledge, all knowledge, because it’s new, because it takes us somewhere we’ve never been before, because it opens doors, unfolds maps, shows us the way to yet more knowledge, is inherently full of wonder. Learn like children learn. Learn with mind open and eyes wide and mouth gaping. Learn widely, deeply, quickly, voraciously. Learn as much as you can as fast as you can. Learn with awe.
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