It’s about connections. Which is why it is the test of true intelligence.

People who can see connections will excel at history. It is no coincidence that the most interesting conversation is to be had with historians and journalists.

Recently I met somebody, abroad, who would be in the very top social rung with a surname that is instantly recognisable as amongst the oldest noble names in Europe.

His father wanted him to enter x university and study to become a lawyer, which he did to comply with family only-child expectations and requirements, but in his heart he hankered after stand-up comedy.

He did qualify as a lawyer and immediately gave that up to do what he is passionate about.

That passion, carries love of literature, association, culture, humour and a
full consciousness and appreciation of his own history, as well as history in general. I’d have to be in agreement that it is the background that shapes the person, taking this case as an example. I know this person to be an excellent influencer of young minds, taking the time to probe and prod, to inquire, identify, recognise and associate areas of interest with potential areas of passion. To supply tailored reading lists on this basis. Nowadays, if your parents or family don’t do this, who has the time and genuine interest to nuture young minds on an individual tailored basis?

In a sense, what you are asking for is a product of any background, whether educated or not. If you feel there is no balance in counter-example given, it is because in any relationship, contrary to what may be gauged by others, it is the educated and cultured person who is the one ceding to who is not. This needn’t be condescension, but one does cede nonetheless.

Professions change in public estimation and demand, but a thorough education doesn’t.

Very few professionals actually possess a thorough education.

I’m hard pressed to think of more than 20 people I know in Malta who are
genuinely passionate about what they do and who have had to break rank
to get there. People who are interesting in their own right outside
their area of specialisation, be it academic, politics or business as
separate areas, and who live by what they claim to hold dear.

Passion is infectious. Passion gets asked for favourite books. Passion is a conductor. Passion may not lead to riches. Passion is electric.

It’s all well and good to have all the traits and abilities you mention, but what good is it, if one partner is knowledge hungry, and the other is knowledge defiant. All the good intention in the world will not, truly, be successful in maintaining such a relationship.

And latently, then, history does come in to hit you in the face as relevant – after all.

One may think one is doing it differently, but one is closing a blind eye to the stark reality of history: broader history, and one’s own personal one.

That blind eye has a price. Time and time again. And history will repeat itself, because human nature doesn’t change that spectacularly.

History itself is a study of human interaction, not just a record. Nelson didn’t just advance because he gauged a gap differently – but also because he held the trust of his men; because he was capable of taking an instant informed decision and following it through.

I would expect the members of my family to enter a discussion on whether bryonic or bryolic should exist as a word, for example, and as to how it could be applied – even if they have no Greek or degrees in Taxidermy – but simply because the singularity of the discussion would interest them and because I know that they are capable of concept extraction and application. Bryology is the newer focus to hydroponics as a house plant base system.

Brilliant :)

It’s a common mistake because it is a literal translation from Maltese.

In a recent survey carried out by The Guardian, less than a third of those interviewed (18-24 year-olds) identified Winston Churchill as the great wartime PM, arguably the greatest of them all.

So there you are.

It’s not modern history that’s more important.

It’s WHAT HAPPENED OUTSIDE MALTA. Modern or ancient.