the art of government - rather than the substance - is all about communication, but as far as this country is concerned I would go even further than that. I would say that Scotland is all about communication. This is a nation that loves to express itself, to retell old stories and share new ideas, to pass on information, to hear what's happening. We communicate passionately with each other as friends, as citizens, as family. It's a very deep human need and we feel it particularly strongly in Scotland ... It's perhaps not surprising that we couldn't wait for somebody else to invent the telephone or television." - Meaning and context.">
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They say the art of government - rather than the substance - is all about communication, but as far as this country is concerned I would go even further than that. I would say that Scotland is all about communication. This is a nation that loves to express itself, to retell old stories and share new ideas, to pass on information, to hear what's happening. We communicate passionately with each other as friends, as citizens, as family. It's a very deep human need and we feel it particularly strongly in Scotland ... It's perhaps not surprising that we couldn't wait for somebody else to invent the telephone or television.

— Alex Salmond

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "They say the art of government - rather than the substance - is all about communication, but as far as this country is concerned I would go even further than that. I would say that Scotland is all about communication. This is a nation that loves to express itself, to retell old stories and share new ideas, to pass on information, to hear what's happening. We communicate passionately with each other as friends, as citizens, as family. It's a very deep human need and we feel it particularly strongly in Scotland ... It's perhaps not surprising that we couldn't wait for somebody else to invent the telephone or television." in the context of "" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Alex Salmond

About Alex Salmond

Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (31 December 1954 – 12 October 2024) was a Scottish politician who served as the fourth First Minister of Scotland from 17 May 2007 to 18 November 2014. He was a former member of both the Scottish and Westminster parliaments. Salmond was leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) for two terms, firstly from 1990 to 2000 and later from 2004 to 2014. A feud with his successor as first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, and his arrest for sexual offences (he was acquitted in the eventual trial) led to Salmond leaving the SNP. From 2021, he was leader of the Alba Party.