Friday, August 9, 2013

A word of warning...

I read a lot! So words, their meanings, usage and definitions are enjoyable to me. There is a dictionary on my table, ready for information sharing and my quixotic quests. English gives so many fancy words to us...use them. Right off the bat I see an incongruity, read. One word, two pronunciations and two time periods. Read (reed), present tense...now! Read (red), past tense...yesterday. Think that makes learning the language easier?

Some words seem to be self-defeating by definition. To all the "fundamentalists" here is the first definition I found, "a basic rule or principle". So here is where my skepticism comes in, when these "fundamentals" were discovered, centuries ago, they were revolutionary...not basic. 

Another word that seems to get placed in the wrong setting is serendipitous. Frequently the proper word might be propitious or benevolent, as the first supposes an accidental occurrence. If I meet you in a check-out line, that might be serendipitous...or not. If meeting you is propitious, then it's a good thing!

I continue to look for words that make me understand things better. Progress, it's usage demotes a good thing, here is a definition, "development towards a better or more modern state". That is also a principle of "socialism". So progress says better, but the proof may not be there. When did modern and better become synonyms? Do you hear someone, somewhere talking about the "good old days"? Why, if progress is so damned wonderful, do we continue to think otherwise?

Evolve. A slow development. Today's parlance, "not so high impact". I like it!

Simple. Really? In a world being renamed"Global", just what do you know of that  isn't totally intertwined with other everything else? I can't even write a simple sentence without thinking about who it affects, how, when, or why. And I have been trying. 

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