he research skills that Eco teaches areperhaps even more relevant today. Eco’s system demandscritical thinking, resourcefulness, creativity, attention todetail, and academic pride and humility; these are preciselythe skills that aid students overwhelmed by the ever-grow-ing demands made on their time and resources, and confusedby the seemingly endless torrents of information availableto them.

“Boredom serves a function,” she says now. “It’s boring, obviously, and we don’t like that, but, when you have no input coming in, you generate output. That’s how you become resourceful. But now you constantly have access to information, entertainment, distraction – all of this stuff coming in, coming in and coming in. And it doesn’t allow you the empty space to create something, or to just process something.