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Scholars and students have always been great travelers. The official case for academic mobility is now often stated in impressive terms as a fundamental necessity for economic and social progress in the world， and debated in the corridors of Europe， but it is certainly nothing new. Serious students were always ready to go abroad in search of the most stimulating teachers and the most famous academies; in search of the purest philosophy， the most effective medicine， the likeliest road to gold. Mobility of this kind meant also mobility of ideas， their transference across frontiers， their simultaneous impact upon many groups of people. The point of learning is to share it， whether with students or with colleagues; one presumes that only eccentrics have no interest in being credited with a starling discovery， or a new technique. It must also have been reassuring to know that other people in other parts of the world were about to make the same discovery or were thinking along the same lines， and that one was not quite alone， confronted by inquisition， ridicule or neglect. In the twentieth century， and particularly in the last 20 years， the old footpaths of the wandering scholars have become vast highways. The vehicle which has made this possible has of course been the aeroplane， making contact between scholars even in the most distant places immediately feasible， and providing for the very rapid transmission of knowledge. | 
