Hemlock off the menu, so ask the uncomfortable questions. Often.

In times of uncertainty, it often helps to draw lessons from history. So yesterday I tapped into Ancient Greece for a reminder left to us by Socrates, a leading architect of Western Civilisation.

After a long life of acting as the "gadfly" of his generation, the authorities tired of Socrates' criticism. At 71, he was charged with being a bad influence on the young Athenians and sentenced to death.

Socrates had many opportunities to escape but decided to stay and swallow the deadly hemlock. Leaving us with the story of an independent thinker who, even in his death, bequeathed an example for the objective questioner, the value of speaking truth to power.

There are few better role models for those seeking solutions to a broken world. We live in an information age abundant with freedoms, where asking uncomfortable questions is an asset. Not least because hemlock is off the menu. Thanks to Socrates and his like.