A Year in #Reviewing

Francis Bacon—the English author, lawyer, philosopher, scientist, and statesman—wrote in his essay Of Studies, "Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man." Reading was the beginning of study for Bacon, and the reading he advised in the pursuit of knowledge ranged widely: histories for wisdom, poetry for wit, mathematics for subtlety, natural philosophy for depth, morality for gravity, and logic and rhetoric for persuasion. But we must also think, discuss, and write about those things we learn through reading. This notion would be echoed in 2011 by Admiral James Stavridis who, addressing the students of the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., advised we spend our time in reading widely, thinking deeply, and writing constantly. We must write, he suggests, since "it is essential in communicating what we have learned and allowing others to challenge our views and thus make them stronger."