Column: A good dance instructor

Actually, society and our fellow citizens should take it upon themselves to ensure that money is deposited on our bank accounts each month, enough to buy food for ourselves, our partners and our children. And the money should also be able to cover a short holiday and a cable subscription. That would allow us to continue our research in uninterrupted peace.

But, unfortunately, that is just not the world we live in. While money and research posts are out there, getting to them means travelling a very long and winding road. You need to submit all kinds of information and wander bureaucratic paths - all equally narrow and slippery - that have absolutely nothing to do with your actual research. It all takes time. And effort. It’s an endeavour that very few can survive without expert guidance. To put it bluntly: society as a whole considers the correct observance of procedure more important than a successful mission to Mars. Well, that’s how it feels anyway. They bother you with rules and regulations, whereas you don’t bother a soul – in fact you leave everyone in peace. I remember vividly how a year or so ago the mayor of the provincial town of Almelo appeared on TV. He was talking about ‘dancing through’. One simply has to dance through the procedures. And any talk about revolution is simply a non-starter. We are left with no other option than to adjust to what society demands from us. Much to our regret, we must all take dancing lessons so that we can elegantly glide across the slippery floors of regulations and procedures without stepping on our partners' toes or falling flat on our face. In order to dance through procedures, you need a good dance instructor.

Fortunately, this newsletter provides exactly that.

The author, Han van der Horst, works at Nuffic's Communication Directorate. His publications include The low Sky. Understanding the Dutch.