Inkling

In today's "Fresh Air" podcast, Terry Gross interviewed Rosanne Cash. Interesting moment about Rosanne's brain surgery: She asked her surgeon if the surgery might impact her ability to hear, play and appreciate music. The surgeon typed a letter back, with ink corrections, saying that he would not be able to advise her since his specialty is in cerebrum, not the cerebellum where the center of music is thought to reside, but that he has "an inkling of how important that is to [her]."

It is a testament to him to acknowledge his limitation to provide a good answer and recognize that he can only begin to understand how important music is to her sense of herself. I love that word "inkling" in this context.