In his Connecticut College commencement address, Alan Alda wove together humor and philosophy with the deftness that had made him one of America's most admired performers. This particular line captured his belief in the importance of intellectual humility and openness. Alda was speaking to a generation entering adulthood during a time of significant social and political upheaval. His metaphor of assumptions as dirty windows was both vivid and practical — it suggested that our beliefs aren't wrong per se, but that they accumulate a film of certainty over time that blocks our ability to see clearly. The remedy isn't to throw out the windows but to clean them regularly, to question what we think we know. It's a call for ongoing self-examination that remains as relevant today as it was in 1980.