THE path of least resistance can be a dull one.

Those who blaze their own trail often find the going difficult, but the rest of us are grateful for the vistas which are opened up. A case in point was the beat poet Allen Ginsberg, who raged against the world into which he was born, and in so doing sharpened our own focus.

Ginsberg toiled for many years in non-violent political protest, and we are reminded that in 1973 he took his message to Glasgow, appearing in a venue which was a precursor to the Third Eye Centre, which in turn became the Centre of Contemporary Arts (CCA). We can be sure that he received a sympathetic audience there - Scots have a rich tradition of embracing the new, as can be seen both in the continued health of the CCA and in our vibrant contemporary arts scene.

It is fitting, therefore, that on the day of the Sauchiehall Street venue's 40th birthday, we report that the National Museum of Scotland has acquired, for £22,500, a piece of glasswork by another artist celebrated for going against the grain - Pablo Picasso, co-founder of the Cubist movement.

As both Ginsberg and Picasso might have said, life would be dull indeed if we all kept to the same perspectives.