Scott W. Heaberlin adds to the message in the title with the subtitle “…or why I think nuclear power is cool and why it is important that you think so too.” The book works hard to overcome negative feelings about nuclear energy. I was convinced, but admit that I was convinced before I read the book. I doubt any avid nuclear energy foes will have their minds changed. The book takes on a complicated technical subject in a both educational and conversational manner. The author sometimes succeeds, and sometimes falls into the “curse of knowledge” trap that leads knowledgeable people to want to explain everything in details much beyond what is necessary, or at least what I thought was necessary. Continue reading
I Have Dibs on that
The phrase is usually used by children to mean, “I claim ownership of that.” However, World Wide Words, a site I frequently use, tells me there is no definitive explanation of the origin. There are dozens of children’s games that have had “dib” or a similar expression in their name. H.G. Wells used “dibs” as slang for money. Perhaps the most logical explanation is that “dib” is an abbreviation of “division” or divide.” But that logic isn’t backed up by evidence.
President Obama and Global Warming
Our newly reelected President used his Inaugural Address and the State of the Union to advocate that we must take action to combat man made global warming. He said there have been increases in droughts and violent storms. I’m frustrated because those statements are easily proven to be false. Most of the media have once again simply ignored the fact that the President is speaking from beliefs not supported by facts. George Will is one exception. His latest article, which focused on the nonsense of having a State of the Union address, mentions comments about climate change. “Data are unkind to his assertion that climate change is causing storms to become more violent and drought to become more prevalent.” “Hurricane and other tropical cyclone activity are at a three-decade low, and Nature journal reports that globally ‘there has been little change in drought over the past 60 years’.” Continue reading
The Aleppo Codex: A True Story of Obsession, Faith, and the Pursuit of an Ancient Bible
Reviewed by Kathy London
This book by Matti Friedman is a fascinating and unexpected tale. Friedman says “I expected to write a heartening story about the rescue of this book… [instead] its story is a tragedy of human weakness.”
To read this book, it is important to understand why the Codex is important. Jews dispersed across the world have no central institution to maintain their religion. They have only their Bible. Reading the text with the utmost precision is imperative; even the tune to which the text is chanted is important. There may be knowledge in the Bible’s exact words not understood today, that will be understood in the future. But the Hebrew Bible was originally written without vowels or punctuation. Key knowledge on how to read the Bible had been handed down orally for centuries, but that teaching was lost in the Diaspora.
Ancient scholars set out to compile authoritative Bibles which included symbols for vowels, punctuation, and emphasis. As scholarly works, they were sewn together into books – called codices – rather than written on scrolls as required for ritual use. A thousand years ago, after centuries of effort, the final text of the Bible was accepted. All other Bibles were to be based on this one text, which became known as the Aleppo Codex or The Crown. Continue reading
Moot Point
World Wide Words has an excellent discussion of the origin of this term and how the meaning has changed completely over the centuries. It began as “meet” in medieval England, and it was often spelled “mot” or “mote.” When something was put up for discussion and debate to reach a decision it was “mooted.” Law students later began using the word “moot” to describe their debates of hypothetical issues. The outcome was unimportant since the issues were invented to help them improve their debating skills. The result was “…a curious shift in which the sense of ‘open to debate’ has become ‘not worth debating’.” The discussion also warns against using the incorrect “mute” to substitute for “moot.”
Cost an Arm and a Leg
The Phrase Finder reports that this expression is often incorrectly said to come from the increased cost charged by painters based in part on the number of limbs that would be shown. However, the phrase originated in America sometime after World War II, and is intended to reflect that the cost of something would be enormous. It is possible the phrase references the high cost paid by soldiers who had lost an arm or leg in the war. It is more likely the origin was nineteenth century phrases “I would give my right arm for…and [Even] if it takes a leg.”