Well Met Sir. Good Luck To You

I keep six honest serving-men [They taught me all I knew];Their names are What and Why and When And How and Where and Who

- Rudyard Kipling

Some of my favorite people to trade ideas with are the interns and researchers that populate the larger Washington DC establishment. They are young minds rapidly soaking in information, and their perspectives on issues are often very unique from the opinions you read of older men and women with a lifetime of experience and history to draw opinions from.

Today's young researchers are a rare breed that can rapidly thin-slice information, and yet work in research - two very different ends of the spectrum for making sense of information. Their thin-slicing data skills come from their generational experiences and natural interest in knowledge. Generation Y is unique in that they grew up with their cell phone networks and technology access, and those who seek knowledge and master using rapid information tools seem to have natural skills categorizing the relevance of data while the rest of us must learn this skill.

As researchers they immerse themselves in the depth of information as a trade, and when both skills of managing depth of information and thin-slicing information are working effectively, these young people can become experts of complicated topics with remarkable speed. Someone really should do an academic study, because I for one would read it.

One of the first defense researchers working in Washington DC I networked with after I began blogging was Eric Sayers. Eric and I had something in common, which is why I met him before I met anyone else who regularly visited the blog: Eric is from upstate NY. In a snowstorm no less, Eric and I got together over Christmas vacation in 2008 for beer outside Albany. We talked China, Russia, the future maritime environment of Asia, space strategy, maritime strategy, and social software for several hours.

Friday is Eric's last day at the Heritage Foundation, where he has been the defense Research Assistant to Mackenzie Eaglen. Even during that first time we met in person back in December, when Eric was discussing his options for his next move, I could tell he wanted to go Singapore and get his masters degree. Well, that time has arrived.

Eric leaves for Singapore this weekend to begin a 10-month M.Sc Strategic Studies degree at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at the Nanyang Technological University. I have had the pleasure of meeting, and even employing, some very smart twenty-somethings. Eric is easily one of the smartest I have encountered. I wish him success, because his future will be whatever he wants it to be. That is both the gift and reward for smart young people who know how to remain focused and stay organized.

Eric, I'll see you next summer when you return home, beer at the same place.