New Delhi, Aug. 31 -- People evaluate actors, singers, writers, directors and sports stars through their best works, even when such works are very few. Some artists are celebrated for a single work; the status of V.V.S. Laxman as a cricket legend rests on a single Test inning. The glory of major public figures comes from their finest moments, not their worst. Even intellectuals evaluate other intellectuals through their best work, while ignoring all the bad stuff.

There is something correct, sensible and generous about this. And it would appear that this is how one must evaluate those who play a role, or will play a role, in our personal or professional lives. We should think the best of a person, consider all that is great about the per...