What is the name of that organ we use to see? The brain, of course. Admittedly, our eyes are critically important for interpreting light rays, at least for those who have eyes that work. For those whose eyes don't work, however, hope is on the way. Using a special device…
If you want to sleep well and not worry about Bush's new plans for the Middle East, don't read this New Yorker article by Seymour Hersh: "The Redirection: Is the Administration’s new policy benefitting our enemies in the war on terrorism?"
Dick Cheney and other conservatives constantly warn us of the “China threat.” Check out these headlines and articles:
This belligerent U.S. attitude that insists that China will inevitably ripen into our next big enemy concerns me for two reasons.
First, why can’t the U.S. work toward an upcoming era of cooperation with China, rather than assuming that we must eventually go to war because China is an emerging superpower? This preference for aggression rather than cooperation is a xenophobic tactic that Neocons have previously used to make “enemies” out of many other countries with whom we should be working to develop strong relationships. What is China’s sin, by the way? China is doing the same things the United States does. For instance, China competing economically with vigor. China is accruing wealth. China is testing sophisticated weapons. China is expanding its influence into parts of the world where petroleum can be found in the ground. Yet the U.S. is paranoid about China. If our frustration is that the Chinese practically own us (along with Japan), that is our own fault that we can’t control our own profligate government spending. I’m not advocating being naive. Perhaps China will someday threaten American interests. I’m suggesting that we should save harsh rhetoric if that happens.
Second, I have a personal stake in …
You don’t know the word "palter"? I didn’t either, until I read a recent paper by Frederick Schauer and Richard J. Zeckhauser of Harvard. The paper’s abstract defines this incredibly useful term, palter: Abstract: A lie involves three elements: deceptive intent, an inaccurate message, and a harmful effect. When only…
This is not about math. I just had a pre-somnolent image of a cluster of words that I just have to let out. In less pretentious language: I thought of this as I dozed off last night.
“A mnemonic pneumonic gnu’s knees.”
Nglish is a weird language. Note that of the 4 words that are all pronounced as though they start with en, none actually start with en. They also came from four different root languages to English (Latin, Greek, Khoikhoi, and German).
We are taught spelling in school as a sort of faith: This is how it is because it is. The root of spelling (in non-pictographic languages) is to produce a stream of characters (letters) to represent the series of sounds (phonemes) that make up each word. So why do we use three different letters for the same hard-K sound? Four if you count eks. Let’s knot forget the mental knife we use to silence kay itself in several common words. Why have we lost the letters for hard and soft ch? Greeks still use chi (χ is not x). Can you spontaneously spout the 5 pronunciations of “ough”?
Basically, why are so many words pronounced differently than they are spelled? The simple answer is, teenagers.…