Paul, I'm not sure whether it was deliberate, but your words provide a very appropriate climax to this discussion. You point out that, in this brief time together, "we can but pool interesting resources, then go off on our own to hypothesize..."
This thread about Mentoring, which was started by Heather Ross, has proved to be one of the most lively and diverse. If you want to continue the conversation, I'm sure Sylvia will help you to find a corner of SCoPE where you can do so, and attract other opinions too.
In the meantime, thank you for your comments. This forum will wind up on Sunday, so please post final thoughts before that.