Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2010 11:06:28 -0800 (PST)
From: Kenneth Arrow 
To: Dr Veljko Milutinovic 
Subject: Re: Three questions for the major newspaer of the nation

Dear Dr. Milutinovic:

Here are my answers to your questions.

1. Inventivity is the ability to make new connections among the different aspects of the world.
   Most such perceptions are wrong; therefore, they must be subject to rigorous criticism, by the author and by others,
   to insure their compatibility with what we can all observe and with the principles of logical coherence.

2. Like all such events, there are two conditions: the previous knowledge on which to draw and the particular question asked.
   In my case, I was asked to explain to non-economists what was the meaning of a value to a collectivity (e.g., a nation).
   I had background in economic theory and in logic which caused me to formulate the question 
   in a way that admitted of an unexpected analytic conclusion.

3. A necessary condition for creativity is access to a wide and diverse basis of knowledge.
   For any country, even the largest, this means that it must reach out to the whole world.
   For example, our scientific journals are open to scholars from all nations.
   A small country will have less diversity and therefore more need to reach out to the world.
   I therefore think it important that the best students be sent to larger countries for advanced study.
   When these students return and serve as the next generation of academics and research engineers,
   they will bring more knowledge and higher standards.

Sincerely yours,

Kenneth J. Arrow