'A revival of the art of deep thought,' has been called for by Michael Gove, the UK schools secretary. What might he mean? Various commentators have ventured a view - 'slow thought', as opposed to the instant google answer; specialisation, grasping all there is to know about this or that.

But I haven't read of the art of interpretation, which I imagine would have been part of the skill for most who might count as a deep thinker in the past. It seeks not just facts but connections, not just the immediate surface but the elusive breadth. It requires self-knowledge too as understanding yourself, your life and times, are part of the process. And it demands that Socratic skill, the framing of deeper questions, as opposed to the rushing to answers. Bring back hermeneutics...