15 August 1996

Think Rant Task

I was in a meeting with a bunch artists, would-be artists and never-will-be artists. Having identified a dearth of policy papers on creativity, they were discussing setting up an arts think tank. Their discussion was most amusing; I could see each and every one of them imaging that s/he would be the one chosen to be the think tank tsar of the arts think tank.

When I got bored with their blah blah blah, I asked my computer to find anagrams for "arts think tank." It came up with over two hundred of them, including

kin thanks tart
knits that rank
rank that stink
ranks that knit
ranks think tat
rant kit thanks
rants that kink
rat thinks tank
rink stank that
shank knit tart
shark tank tint
shirt tank tank
shrink tank tat
skirt thank ant
skirt thank tan
snark think tat
stank think tar
stark hint tank
stark thin tank
stark think ant
stink thank art
stink thank rat
tank shrank tit
tank thinks tar
tanks think art
tanks think rat
tanks think tar
tarns thank kit
tarns that kink
thank kits rant
thank knit rats
thank rant skit
thanks rink tat
thanks tart ink
thanks tint ark
think art stank
think arts tank
think rant task
think tank tsar

I doubt they'll ever set up their arts think tank, and I doubt its absence will be noticed let alone missed. In the unlikely event there is an arts think tank, I hope the person who created the world's first tilet by stealing the "o" from "toilet" runs it. That's obviously someone who knows a thing or two about creativity.