Category: language
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no one in their left mind
Illustration above: Bedroom curtains and blinds (7/6/24) I recently stumbled upon an art instruction classic (well-known to millions of others since 1979): Dr. Betty Edwards’ “Drawing On the Right Side of the Brain.” Its title says it all. The corpus callosum is the nerve bridge bundle that allows the brain’s left and right hemispheres to…
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caution to the wind
“You can’t be too careful.” Or can you? Does this mean there’s no amount of caution that would be excessive – that the stakes are too high for any risk-taking? Or, alternatively, is this an admonition to avoid being too careful? In creative arts, risk aversion gets in the way of innovation. Might it be…
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proportionality
What’s with this love for proportionality? I’m referring to the notion that one side in a conflict should limit its response to an attack to be equal in force to that of the other side’s provocation. But nothing more. Can someone please explain why this is a good idea? The putative rationale I’ve heard is…
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putting up with
The Merriam-Webster dictionary folks have just announced that a preposition is now a part of speech you can end a sentence with. Get out! click image to enlarge Lorem ipsum, my butt. This reflects a linguistic trend that I for one am not fond of. After all, incorporating “which” or “whom” behind a preposition and…
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dead or alive
Ben Franklin famously gave the advice of writing down pros and cons in two opposing columns, making an algebraic-like assessment, and then simply rendering the correct decision. The best choice of the two would then be obvious. Although that’s not bad counsel in certain narrow circumstances, it fails miserably as an effective approach to decision…
