From the Editor
On The Shoulders Of Giants
Luis Ayala for december
“Standing on the shoulders of giants” is a metaphor that refers to using the understanding gained from smart people who lived before us, in order to make intellectual progress. It was famously used by Sir Isaac Newton in 1675, when he wrote that “if I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
The origin of the metaphor can be traced back to the Latin phrase nanos gigantum humeris insidentes, which describes dwarfs (people with some limitations) standing on the shoulders of giants (people with some above-average faculties).
As explored in great detail in The Rum University’s series “The Rum Biography” and “Ideas That Changed The Rum World,” the sugarcane and alcohol industries owe much of their present day existence to the hard work and dedication of countless chemists, biologists, engineers and visionaries who paved the roads that we so comfortably walk on today.
Japanese writer Haruki Murakami once wrote that “death is not the opposite of life, but an innate part of it.” Sadly, this unavoidable end recently came for Mr. Jose Pablo Navarro Campa, the first ever Cuban Maestro Ronero (Chief Master of Cuban Rum), who passed away early in September, at the age of 78. He was warmly known around the world as “Don Navarro,” and was instrumental in making Havana Club the global reference it is today. His contemporary colleagues and all the new generations of Cuban Masters will stand on the shoulders of his legacy, each one furthering his work, making it possible for all to make more and better contributions to the rum industry.
As you go about your day, do you think about (or thank) the giants who came before you? Please take a few seconds as often as you can, to recognize and appreciate their contributions to the life you enjoy today.
Cheers,
Luis Ayala,
Editor and Publisher
http://www.linkedin.com/in/rumconsultant