Reading and Writing

The power of written record

Words will last much longer than persons.

 “So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this [poem], and this gives life to thee.” – Shakespeare, Sonnet 18

Every memory, every thought must be saved.

Where do all those forgotten moments go?

Who will testify to our lives?

One must make a lasting record: I was here. I felt, I thought, I was.

Ideas, feelings, discoveries, experiences and beliefs must be shared.

Ideas and discoveries must be passed down to the next generation(s).

Writing is an exploration of the human condition; the human comedy.

"All of art and science depend on questioning what seems to be in light of what is." - Michael Burgess, More Letters to Uncle Mike

Reading is transformative.

Through narrative, each man may live hundreds of lifetimes: first as a reader, then as a writer.

Through written record is man’s only chance of ultimate knowledge.

“Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” – Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Ozymandias”

Linguistics & Semiotics

The power of words

They call me Linguo.

I am a word-hoarder: a vocabularian and etymologist.

I suffer frequently from onomatomania—but I like it. [1]

English is a most excellent language because of its elasticity.

I love portmanteau words, and to verb nouns.

I believe that a thesaurus should be drawn with Venn diagrams, not lists. 

Almost no words can singularly express any singular ideas.

The larger the vocabulary, the more accurately ideas can be expressed.

Learning more languages—verbal and non-verbal—increases the ability to express oneself.

Grammar and punctuation serve to elucidate and clarify these ideas.

The ideas are in our heads waiting to be put to words.

Without words these ideas cannot escape, cannot serve us or our community.

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[1] Vexation at having difficulty in finding the right word