Is the correct plural of conundrum, conundrums or conundra? No doubt William L. Disque, my high school Latin teacher, would opt for the latter reinforced by trading his usual smile with a scowl, in a calm but reproving manner all his own. Besides two years of Latin instruction Mr. Disque was my creative writing instructor also, one of my earliest motivational spurs. He was one of those teachers you never want to let down and I tried not to. (Note no clever Latin arrangement here. If he could see what I recall of his tutelage maybe I wouldn't want to claim that so quickly!)

Similarly fondly recalled is my university professor in digital logic, Dr. Henry Winton. I took to digital logic like a duck takes to lakes, encouraged by Dr. Winton. With sharp alertness and equally sharp white beard he also had a predilection for smiling, though at times of displeasure that grin was backed by Shelley's "cold command." A visit to his office was a surreal trip into stereotypical clutter of a mind obsessed with learning, stacks of papers and books and certificates stacked from floor to ceiling, many published from before I was born.

Such teachers are worth their weight in carbon nanotubes. I miss their intellectual challenge. I miss their wise inspiration and treasure what my memory recalls. It's a shame our receding culture elevates less deserving professions over that of "teacher." Surprisingly instead a backlash builds against book learnin', a trend that will develop into a reaction against science (say, up to air-conditioning and internal combustion engines).

"Every man is my superior in that I may learn from him," to pass along a nugget from sitcom television that my mind stored instead of the untranslated wisdom of Caesars. (Admittedly some may serve more as an illustrative example of misbehavior, but that's not the point.) We should not be afraid of people smarter than us. There's more to it of course, but to paraphrase a truism about kind words and a gun, brains and brawn will get you farther than just brawn.

This is no time to succumb to our weaker nature. If we are rightfully blamed for backing away from the pressure of priming precious young minds I fear history will not take kindly to such a direction. That's why now, more than ever, we need smart people and good ideas to get past the conundra of current crises. If your leader is not smarter than you are, maybe you're not so smart after all.