Nice editorial from David Brooks in The New York Times yesterday on how to develop a public policy that might bolster the brain power of our children. He concludes–surprise, surprise–that love is all they need.

“Kids learn from people they love. If we want young people to develop the social and self-regulating skills they need to thrive, we need to establish stable long-term relationships between love-hungry children and love-providing adults.

“That’s why I’m grappling with these books on psychology and brain function. I started out on this wonk odyssey in the company of economic data, but the closer you get to the core issue, the further you venture into the primitive realm of love.”

I’m not sure he really means “primitive” there; “unquantifiable,” “unregulate-able” or “hard for this nation to manufacture” might have been better.