"DO PASS THE POTATOES, HENRIK"

Abstract

Henrik Ibsen, the Norwegian playwright, was given to torrential discussion at his dinner table. At times, it is said, the waves of argument rose higher and higher, and disagreement grew so intense that Ibsen and his guests would all be speaking at once. At such times, Ibsen's wife had her own way of bringing them back to a sense of proportion. "Do pass the potatoes, Henrik," she would say, in a gentle voice. And Ibsen, just as gently, would pass them.

Perhaps, at this stage in our educational development, it is time for someone to say, "Do pass the potatoes."