The Third Leader: Lifelong learning
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Could this, I mused to myself, be a man who hasn't seen 9am for 78 years? Does he give the same reply about his studies as Woody Allen when he was asked how his therapy was going: "Slowly"? And how many more of them are there? Does this explain the shortage of university places?
Further research, though, discloses that Mr Herzberg, a refugee from Nazi Germany, didn't start his studies until he was 80. But that only increases my admiration. How refreshing, in a time of dreary talk of vocation and relevance, that he should have then had a crack at German and German literature before taking a masters in refugee studies, followed by this one in African studies. What purity of learning!
The dreary ones will, of course, utter pious pleasantries and private condemnations of a waste of time. To which I offer a couple of senior lifetime learners. When they asked Cato, 80, why he was learning Greek at his age, the old boy said he was sorry but it was the youngest one he had left.
And when a student asked Plato what use were all his abstractions, the wise man gave him a coin so he would feel he had gained something, then threw him out. Here's to the next Freshers' Week, Mr Herzberg!
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments