Yet in our enthusiasm for the idea that everyone should be able to read and write fluently, we may be missing a crucial point: in today's culture, finely honed literacy skills are simply not as important as they once were.

I suspect the secret of personal attraction is locked up in our unique imperfections, flaws and frailties.

But the rule seems to be that the bigger and more life-changing the decision, the less it will seem like a decision at all.

It is the misfortune of contemporary leaders, across the whole spectrum of Australian life, that the community's demand for strong leadership is growing in direct proportion to our lack of confidence in ourselves. The end of this century is an unusually difficult time to be a leader in Australia.

Actually, I can't imagine anything more tedious than a perfect person, especially if it was someone who also demanded perfection from me.

It seems inevitable that the magic of the written word will fade.

Nothing is perfect. Life is messy. Relationships are complex. Outcomes are uncertain. People are irrational.