For as long as we have known him—and for most of us that has been for the lengths of our lifetimes—he has been the object of, and inspiration for, a delight so innocent and perfect that the attempt to analyse its sources seems an act of ingratitude, a laying on of thumby hands that will inevitably bollix the job.

There were three miniature beanpots of brown pottery filled with steaming baked beans topped with slices of crisp salt pork.

… I like not his countenance; I am afraid he labours of the venereall murre.

This power, we argue, lies in the ways in which dialogue is used to interthink – that is, to think together, to build knowledge co-constructively through our shared understanding.