For reading between the lines with greater comprehension
Last week New Yorker columnist George Packer noted that while Sarah Palin’s syntax is mangled, more significantly it lacks verbs. It’s mostly nouns. Maverick, hockey mom, Joe sixpack, elitist, terrorist, small-town people–lots of heavily loaded nouns. Loaded nouns and the adjectives that modify them are part of everyone’s vocabulary, but in recent decades–under the influence […]
Our election is 13 days away. If you’re bothered by my political focus lately, please know I’ll be back to the usual soon. This election is proving to be a referendum on the central tenets of Mindreaders Dictionary. I can’t resist making the connections. I watch this election from several perspectives. Among them: Mine: What […]
Studying politics and history, one character keeps popping up and making trouble. Here are his essential characteristics: 1. He believes he knows what everyone should do. 2. He believes it is his mission to get everyone to do it. 3. He is 100% confident in this belief and mission. 4. He is also 100% confident […]
By Jeremy Sherman, Ph.D. You may have offended your friend; you’re not sure. You feel like apologizing. But if the insult didn’t even register, then you’ll open the very can of worms you’re trying to close. Still, if your friend is offended and fuming, you’d really better fix it. Should you say something? Another friend […]
All philosophy is “footnotes to Plato,” or so said philosopher Alfred North Whitehead. He was exaggerating, but I will say this. All human life (including this year’s elections) plays out Plato’s most famous story, but with two divergent endings. You have probably heard about Plato’s cave. Even if you haven’t, if you’ve seen The Matrix, […]
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