We are fascinated by rogues, from Chaucer's Pardoner to Del Boy. 9 We are bad at risk-assessment, and repeated surveys show that we fear crime far more than is justified.
I long for shadowy founts, where the birds twitter and chirp at noon from every tree; I long for blossomed leaves and lowing herds; And Nature's voices say in mystic words, " The green fields wait for thee."
But the tingling sublimity which we feel in the Queen of the Night’s aria no longer reflects a yearning for order, but a sense of our littleness in the face of immensity.
And as we all look forward to the start of a new decade, it's worth remembering that it is often the small steps, not the giant leaps that bring about the most lasting change.
So put simply, without a solid foundation in maths, our children risk being left behind, shut out of the careers they aspire to; and the lives that they want to lead.