So many of us walk around letting fly with “errors.” We could do better, but we’re so slovenly, so rushed amid the hurly-burly of modern life, so imprinted by the “let it all hang out” ethos of the sixties, that we don’t bother to observe the “rules” of “correct” grammar.
To a linguist, if I may share, these “rules” occupy the exact same place as the notion of astrology, alchemy, and medicine being based on the four humors. The “rules” make no logical sense in terms of the history of our language, or what languages around the world are like.
Nota bene: linguists savor articulateness in speech and fine composition in writing as much as anyone else. Our position is not—I repeat, not—that we should chuck standards of graceful composition. All of us are agreed that there is usefulness in a standard variety of a language, whose artful and effective usage requires tutelage. No argument there.
The argument is about what constitutes artful and effective usage. Quite a few notions that get around out there have nothing to do with grace or clarity, and are just based on misconceptions about how languages work.
—John McWhorter
—from Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold Story of English
hyperthymesia /HIY-pər-thiy-MEE-zhə/. noun. The condition of possessing an extremely detailed autobiographical memory, sort of a photographic memory for life experiences. From Greek hyper (excessive) + thymesis (remembering).
“In one study, even people with the disorder hyperthymesia, which causes them to remember every event in their lives in painstaking detail, were susceptible to false memories at roughly the same rate as the rest of us.” (Erik Vance)
“The technical term psychologists nowadays apply to super-memory is ‘hyperthymesia’, or ‘Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM)’. The condition was first clinically described by psychologists in 2006. Super memorisers were, however, anticipated years before in Borges’ story, the wonderfully titled ‘Funes the Memorious’.” (John Sutherland)
“Jill Price has the first diagnosed case of a memory condition called ”hyperthymestic syndrome“ — the continuous, automatic, autobiographical recall of every day of her life since she was fourteen.” (Jill Price)
An astounding project, YOLOCAUST “combined selfies from the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin with footage from Nazi extermination camps.” The project, the response—including from those in the original photographs—and the ensuing conversations are intriguing. You can see the original images in the Internet Archive (roll over the images). :: Pairs with Forever present: Digital immortality for the Holocaust’s last survivors
“Bundespraesidentenstichwahlwiederholungsverschiebung isn’t just a mouthful—it tells an annoying political story” → Austria’s Word of the Year Has 52 Letters
Be the best bard you can be! → Crowdsourcing for Shakespeare
“Russian futurist book art from 1910 to 1915 combines dynamic lithographs with the sounds of zaum poetry. This interactive exemplifies the interplay of word-image-sound through audio recordings, Russian transliterations, and English translations of 10 poems, presented directly within the pages of the artist’s books.” → Explodity
Cool visualizations → Constellations of first sentences from each chapter of short stories
Weird, and I need to make this work for me. → Knowingly Taking a Placebo Still Reduces Pain, Studies Find
From the Constitutional Post (est. 1774) to today, Winifred Gallagher tells the story of how The Post Office Created America in this 99% Invisible story and interview. See also, the New York Times review that includes Gallagher’s book.
You don’t need to be a linguist to enjoy browsing the newly open Lexicons of Early Modern English site.
Ha! → List: Concepts for Which I Suspect Germans Have a Single Word
Today in 1951, cartoonist and artist John Callahan is born in Portland, Oregon, USA. A quadriplegic since a car accident at 21, Callahan drew his rough, dark, occasionally macabre, taboo-busting and very funny cartoons by holding a pen between his two hands. See also: Callahan’s NYT Obit and the Independent’s obit, Prophet of bad taste. Just a few months ago, there were reports that Gus Van Sant and Joaquin Phoenix had a Callahan biopic in development.
“We sought to capture people facing a difficult situation, to make a portrait of humans in doubt. We’ve all seen actors playing doubt in fiction films, but we have few true images of the feeling in documentaries. To make them, we decided to put people in a situation powerful enough not to need any classic narrative framework. A high dive seemed like the perfect scenario.” → Ten Meter Tower
Detailed renderings, derived from obsessive watching, of Famous Television Show Home Floor Plans.
Reader B.: “Here One is fascinating. Thank you.”
Reader J.: "Ahhh… ‘You know, culture needs stewardship, not disruption.’ POPOVA quoting Sullivan ¶ All the time I have just now. But, Lovely. Ahhh.
Reader B., who shared the Bibliomania link, adds: "I can’t get enough of this. ¶ Going into a bookstore and asking for their books on books section is like muttering a password for a secret chamber.
Reader F.: “Your bit from David Foster Wallace’s essay on Federer doesn’t make me want to read his sports-writing. But it reminds me that I’m glad my sports-phobia didn’t prevent me from reading his other essays, which are (dare I say it?) ace. Never did finish Infinite Jest.”
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