Plug the word “context” into the Google News search box today and you’ll get 30,073 results.  This is a bit of a downturn over the last ten days as some of the stories driving the totals, like the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court and and the heat created by people contesting the citizenship of President Obama, have subsided.

In fact, there was no single story or small group of stories that drove the total.  This makes it all the more remarkable.  Context as a concept, context as a mandatory element, context as an aid to understanding the news is being applied far-and-wide.  It has taken hold in politics, art and even math.

This is good news.

Share