I recently ran into an article about the origin of the term “conspiracy theory“. A recent book has stated that “The term was… put into wide circulation by the CIA to smear and defame people questioning the JFK assassination”.
I didn’t find “conspiracy theory” on Word Detective, Phrase Finder, or World Wide Words. But the article’s author suggests a source I have not used: “you can actually push the date back even farther using a more recently developed tool, Google Books.” He presents a usage in 1870 from a debate over mistreatment of inmates at insane asylums. (There is another striking phrase within the quoted material: “sprinkle hells with rose-water.”)
Zealot
Reza Aslan has been on a high-profile book tour for Zealot, the Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, and the book is already in libraries in e-format. I have reviewed Bart Ehrman’s book on the historic Jesus and Aslan’s effort is an interesting comparison. Aslan avoids the references to sources and debate among experts in his text. In his Author’s Note, Aslan explains that “rather than burden the reader with the centuries-long debate… I have constructed my narrative upon what I believe to be the most accurate and reasonable argument.” (Aslan does include some of the debate in his Notes section.) This makes his book easy to read and much better story telling.
Jesus lived during an apocalyptic time, a situation lost in the New Testament. I was aware of the Roman conquest of Palestine, the Jewish revolts, and subsequent devastation wreaked by Rome, but I did not appreciate the extent of the events. This story would make compelling reading even without any mention of Jesus. There seem to be no “good guys” in this struggle. Aslan describes the viciousness and terrorism on both sides. Roman brutality is well know (crucifixion was the standard Roman punishment reserved for insurrectionists) but even within the Jewish population rebel factions would terrorize those deemed collaborators or moderates in the struggle with Rome. Continue reading
True Tales of Madness, Love, History, and the Periodic Table
Sam Kean is in love with the elements. He collected mercury from broken thermometers in childhood and mercury is still his favorite element. Alchemists considered mercury to be poetic, and Kean agreed, saying “it transcended pedestrian categories of liquid or solid, metal or water, heaven or hell.” This beginning alerts the reader that his book is a delightful geek fest.
If the Periodic Table seems an unlikely topic to appear on the New York Times’ best seller list, read Kean’s book The Disappearing Spoon. Concepts of chemistry and physics are interspersed among lively stories. The stories are the main feature; it is not a textbook. Continue reading
First Blush
From RF_alum:
I didn’t succeed at finding the origin of this expression. The Etymology Dictionary gives a brief but logical description that it refers to the blush of the face, or a rosy color, in response to some situation or event. The expression goes back to the 1590s. It refers to the blushing caused by an emotional occurrence.
Detroit May Be Blazing a Trail for Us All
Detroit has been in the news because of its looming bankruptcy. Certainly the flight of manufacturing from America’s Rust Belt, poor city management, and crime all contribute to its decline. But at the root of the city’s woes is a loss of population.
I wonder if Detroit is a window into the future. I have posted before about predictions that the total world population will top out and begin to decline within this century and maybe within a lifetime. One interesting article says “we are now exactly in the middle of perhaps the greatest demographic change in recorded history… It’s entirely possible that in little more than a generation world population will stop growing, and that our children will live to see a planet with many millions, maybe a billion, fewer people on it than there are now.” Continue reading
By Hook or By Crook
From RF_alum:
The Phrase Finder (one of my favorite sources) writes there are several possible origins of this expression. However, the most logical origin is that it is from medieval England when it was allowed for “…peasants to take from royal forests whatever deadwood they could take down with a shepherd’s crook.”