OK, I'm'a re-blog this. It's David Foster Wallace's intro to the Best American Essays 2007 [thanks Sippey]. It's a bit rambly, but a nice perspective on the importance of essays, and editorship, in a world where we all seem to be very ignorant. A summary quote:

The alternative is ... continually discovering new areas of personal ignorance and delusion. In sum, to really try to be informed and literate today is to feel stupid nearly all the time, and to need help.