Words are your Friends: The Joys of Etymology

One of the earliest experiences of an intellectual nature that I remember had to do with a Sunday-School lesson. Our Sunday-School met all together first, at around seven in the morning, and a sort of devotion was led by the Superintendent, after which we broke up into individual (age-specific) groups. The lesson I remember had to do with the etymology of the word "sincere". You can look it up: it comes from the roots "sine" without, in Latin, and "cere"; wax. The root "sine" gives us lots of words through the French cognate "sans-", such as sans-culotte, which one rarely uses, and of course Shakespeare's "All the world's a stage" speech (from Hamlet, I presume? Or perhaps I presume too much?) Sinecure, is also a word rarely used these days, and means an occupation that does not involve a great deal of responsibility. "Cure" must derive from the same origins as "curator", but that's only a guess. "Cere" is worth some investigation, since it sounds so much as if it has some relation to 'ceramics', and 'ceremony', and the goddess of the Earth, Ceres. Our month of January comes from the Roman god of beginnings, Janus, who was said to have two heads, one looking forwards, and the other looking back, and as such appropriate for being the patron of the new year, with its retrospective and prospective aspects. (There you have three words with the "spex" root [Wiktionary] meaning "observer", one who looks.)

I wish there were more of an etymological component to modern American education. In tandem with the American tradition of doing things differently than the rest of the world, there ought to be a moderating interest in those inquiries that look at connections with the rest of the world. We do not serve our children well if we give them the illusion that all good things that we enjoy were invented right here by Americans. The interconnectedness of all things is one of the greatest lessons one can learn, and Etymology draws on language, history, literature, vocabulary, and cognitive skills. One of the few areas in which there appears to be etymological interest on the part of the general public is about internet-related terminology. The etymology of blog is often talked about (evidently a contraction of Web Log). There is an interesting account of the origins of the phrase "suss out", which is used to mean 'check out' at the Grammarphobia Blog. How does the mind work? On the surface, we think of our brains as being simply fact-collecting organs, but more accurately, the brain collects facts, and connections between them. Collecting the facts is the easy part. What help we can give with the rest of it is sorely needed, and sadly absent from the experience of many of our youth. (I was trying to locate good further reading for the interested reader, but was frustrated by the aggressive tendency to classification that cognitive psychologists seem to have.

There is a theory that has been co-opted by a teaching philosophy --at least according to this site-- namely "constructivism". Unfortunately, they have made a part of their creed that any sort of testing is against the objectives of learning. While this is true to some extent, it does make it hard to call oneself a Constructivist if one does need to administer tests and evaluations. As a result of this fragmented nature of the theory of cognition, for many years it has been an unpopular area in which to specialize.)

To summarize, careful expression, careful use of words, the careful measured thought, all these things should have a larger share of what happens in this century, if we are to have a better public life for all of us.

Archimedes, hoping for a more articulate Presidency

Miriam Makeba

Soon after singing at an anti-Mafia rally in Italy, Miriam Makeba is dead at age 76. This charismatic and courageous woman was found by the cause of anti-apartheid, and was exiled from her native South Africa for twenty years, which she put to good use in spreading the word about conditions in Africa. Musicians, social historians, Africans, and those of us who were molded by the amazing ideas and movements of the sixties will miss her greatly. May she rest in peace, and may she never be forgotten.

Archimedes

Why Taxation is Reasonable

Of late, it has become the fashion that Americans Hate Taxes. If one hates something, one must look carefully into what it is about it that one hates. In his blog, Mano Singham carefully explains the role of taxes in society, and why one should look carefully at anyone who earns a good living, but hates taxes. His explanation (link no longer available) is based on levels of need.

1. If I find it hard to keep body and soul together, it would make no sense to pay taxes at all. For the poorest Americans, paying taxes is something they would rightly resent.
2. If I earned more than I needed simply to keep body and soul together, if I had a little more money, Mano Singham points out, I would be interested in such things as security, a decent police force, decent schools, decent services which I could not afford by myself. It makes no sense to return my taxes to me and withdraw the security provided by the community, unless I was so wealthy I could hire my own private security service. So, at this level of income, it makes sense to pay some taxes, for these benefits.
3. Once my level of income rises still higher, Mano Singham speaks for himself: it is satisfying to know that by paying higher prices for groceries, for instance, that agricultural workers would earn a better wage. In other words, he says, for some of us, the satisfaction of alleviating suffering and hardship is something that we would be willing to pay taxes for.
4. [Added later]: such things as airports and stadiums, often built at taxpayer expense, are usually only enjoyed by those in fairly high tax brackets, or more frequently enjoyed by the wealthy. In addition, there are publicly funded resources that can be used only by a very few, such as luxury accommodations at airports and national parks. This list is by no means exhaustive; I suspect that there are things the wealthy can enjoy whose existence the rest of us are unaware of. The better off you are, the more you can enjoy what the government provides, and so the tax system should tax those of higher incomes at higher rates.

Mano Singham's beautifully, clearly and lucidly presented explanation of the costs versus benefits of taxation from the point of view of the socially conscious individual can hardly be improved upon. What is dismaying is that many of us have friends who are so comfortable saying that the needs of those less fortunate than ourselves are not an important consideration when it comes to complaining about taxes. In short, they say, there is so much waste in government that it excuses the blanket condemnation of taxes altogether.

Archimedes

Who is In the Middle Class?

In his blog, Mano Singham asks this very question. Dr Singham observes that political candidates in the US often claim to be on the side of the "middle class", but every administration manages to help only the very wealthy, and appease what most of us think of as the middle class by giving them a few crumbs. How is this done? By making people who earn around $30,000 a year feel a kinship with those who earn more than $250,000 a year. Of course it's all relative; Bill Gates probably thinks that anyone earning $250,000 a year ought to get Social Security (I'm just kidding; he's probably a very hip guy), but each person considers him or herself as a person of very modest means.

The State of the Union

The President-Elect, Barack Obama, will be inaugurated in January. But it isn't too early to put forward an open letter to the nation, spelling out what should be done between now and that moment. With all humility, and recognition that the Supreme Court has become comfortable with interfering in the electoral process, thus reversing the will of the people, the President-Elect could, without appearing too eager to take office, or usurping the prerogatives of the Electoral College, set out some principles for whomever should be president in 2009:

1. A word of reassurance to the troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere would not be out of place. No matter what the detailed plans should be for their final repatriation, if that's the word I want, they deserve some word from the new people in Washington, even if they have not yet taken the reins.
2. A few words to the Congress might be in order, for surely some furious activity is planned there, for the days between now and the end of the year! Warning or encouragement, either could be of value, and a reminder that the nation is watching.
3. A few words to the newly elected Governers may be appreciated. It may be too early to proffer advice, but kind words now will be remembered when help is needed presently.
4. A few words to the people will be welcome. It is right to rejoice in the victory, but not too soon to set a tone for the next few years.
5. Words of warning to certain sectors of the business world might be in order. It is time to call a stop to the freeloading that has gone on in certain quarters, in the name of free enterprise. If free enterprise is selling stocks in political figures (something I still find difficult to believe), perhaps the term should be redefined. I cannot help thinking that the futures market should be examined closely, for its contributions to the instability of the economy.
6. Finally, a greeting to those who deal with the youth of the nation, who train the minds of our young citizens, and shape their attitudes towards duty, service and privilege. Perhaps it is time to veer away from the path of creeping elitism and lowered expectations. We need a more practical solution to low achievement in schools than the suave legislated excellence of recent administrations. There is not one single cause for ignorance among American youth, and we should not proceed as if there were just one enemy of education. Teaching requires work on the part of students, teachers and parents, all three, and there is no way to achieve excellence by imposing additional burdens on just one or two of these parties.

Archimedes

The Beauty of Kathleen Ferrier

Every once in a while I'm reminded that Kathleen Ferrier is dead, and I fall into a state of misery, ignoring the fact that I never knew her, never saw her in a video clip, and only shared the planet with her for a little more than two years. More than the voice which has been within arm's reach for most of my life, and the fragrant personality that every piece of memorabilia radiates, I also, in my pathetic male way, mourn the loss of her wonderful face.

When I was a kid, I could never understand the adult preoccupation with dimples. I knew some kids with deep dimples, who were almost literally a pain in the butt. But now that I am come to man's estate, I can see a little of what the fuss is about. Let me put it this way: if I were to be a girl (which I am not), that's whom I would like to look like.

There are several vocal pieces I love that I can almost only bear to hear sung by Kathleen Ferrier; most of them are on the album Kathleen Ferrier sings Bach and Handel Arias. One in particular, one of the most joyful arias ever written, is from the Handel Messiah : "O Thou that tellest glad tidings to Zion" heard here in a Google video. This particular recording uses an enriched version of Handel's scoring, very possibly that by Ebenezer Prout. On that same recording with Sir Adrian Boult is the gorgeous Bach aria: Qui sedes ad dextram Patris, from the mass in B minor.

It is interesting how protestants such as Bach addressed these ancient Latin prayers composed by clergy a thousand years ago; clearly, to at least some of the leaders of the early church, the day of judgment was very close indeed. The prayer says --and some of the fear in it still remains after millennia of comforting familiarity: O Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us! I am not a believer; nevertheless the appeal can be very poignant, depending on who makes it. To the first century clerics who first wrote the prayers of the Mass, the confidence that Jesus had promised to intercede for mankind must have warred with belief in the fearful end of the world, and the accompanying judgment. To Bach, for whom the goodness of Jesus was, with the consolation of music, the only relief from the misery of his life and the cruelty of his world, the prayer was at once an opportunity to practice his compositional art, as well as an opportunity to praise god. To me, it seems as if the beautiful aria is not a personal plea, but an offering of beauty, where the rhetorical aspects of the melody are an offering to god, carefully wrought, and sincere in the context of religious drama. To Kathleen Ferrier, I doubt that the feelings of Bach and the author of the prayer meant too much. She probably allowed the emotions in the notes to suffuse her, determined to persuade her audience of the beauty of the aria, and to give her fellow performers of her best, so that the whole work, the recording, could be as good as she could personally make it, and sincerely, from her heart. Listening to it, it seems effortless, but in the footnotes we read that she had already been diagnosed with cancer. We can never know, but it is possible that the illness did not color the performance except as a hindrance to doing even better. I have never seen so many photographs of a woman who smiled more readily with her eyes. There is a youthful photograph of her, as young as nineteen, possibly, with the marks of braces still on her teeth, with the same smile on her face with which she graced photographs all her life.

Janet Baker recounts hearing of the death of Kathleen Ferrier, and her feelings at the realization that she could never get to know her. I can only guess how universal that feeling was, but it is certainly how I have felt every once in a while, especially when I see that wonderful smile.

[Added later:
It is said that, even if everyone she knew was not exactly in love with Kathleen Ferrier, at least the horror of hearing the news of her death was a serious shock to everyone.  The recordings in the album Kathleen Ferrier Sings Bach and Handel Arias, in Mono, were literally the last recordings she ever made, for she died very shortly afterwards.  Adrian Boult, the conductor on the record, was so grief-stricken that he had not made a stereophonic recording for the album that he placed a large speaker on the middle of the stage, conducted the orchestral accompaniment all over again, and recorded it in stereo, with Ms Ferrier's voice coming out in Monophonic sound in the middle.  This was considered sacrilege at the time, and for years to come; of course purists would consider practically anything sacrilegious.  I for one would love to get my hands on this fake stereo version.]

Archimedes

Harry Potter and The World of Children's Books

It seems clear, at this point, that the Harry Potter books, and the Harry Potter Phenomenon generally, has given children's books a fillip that was sadly needed for decades. You may disagree with Jane Rowling's metaphysics, or with her educational objectives or social consciousness or whatever, but you can't fault her saying that she writes a boring book. I'm willing to bet that there must be a million young readers out there for whom Harry Potter was the first book they read voluntarily. There must be a vast number who began reading Harry Potter under duress, but continued to read voluntarily. The hardest thing to do, and believe me, I know first hand, is to get a kid to start reading. You pick the wrong books, or she has the wrong interests, or there just aren't any interesting books, or her friends don't read, so she doesn't, either, or she despises her friends and they do read ... you can ring the changes on that ad nauseam. So even if kids are reading books that you'd rather they didn't, they are reading, dammit, which is a huge improvement over not reading at all.  

Is our adult preoccupation with reading a temporary 20th/21st -century phase? Will 25th century adults bemoan the fact that kids don't watch enough TV? Is there something special about books? Because I enjoy writing so much (hence this blog :) I assume that there is some benefit to reading and writing, both to the writer, and to the audience. When writing, you have to force your nebulous thought into words, and you begin to realize that you have linguistic resources that you did not dream you had! Language, especially written language, is a resource that one must never undervalue. I wish I had the skills to persuade everyone of the truth of this, but it is only an instinctive feeling, a gut conviction, at the moment.  

It's surprising how the Harry Potter books have caught on in America. Perhaps the wonderful movies have contributed to the overall phenomenon, but why did the books catch on at first? They rely so much on the British boarding-school phenomenon, to which most Americans are strangers (except for the few who have read boarding-school books, and I can't even think of a few offhand--I belong to the generation who read Billy Bunter and Psmith stories from books handed down from uncles and aunts). The idea of a mixed boarding school (girls and boys) is unfamiliar, but I imagine in this enlightened age such a thing is not impossible. Perhaps they have been around for decades; gosh, I'm such a dinosaur.  

Rowling is a master at characterization. There's absolutely nobody better. The plots are not as satisfying as I'd like (or rather, The Plot isn't as satisfying, I should say). It all goes to show that, really, the plot is only a minor component of the entire work of fiction. Brilliant books have been written with very sketchy plots. Rowling's characters are so real, that to this day it seems as though Hermione Granger in the books and Hermione in the movie (Emma Watson) are two different characters entirely, both of whom share Harry Potter. Honestly, I can't see Emma Watson in the role for the movie of the last book (Deathly Hallows). She just gives the impression of being too much in charge and unflappable, while the Hermione of the book seems at the end of her tether, and only hanging on by a thread. Let's see Emma Watson hanging on by a thread, then, and I'll believe she can do it. There are other authors who have been plugging away at the young adult audience over the years, with some success, if not as spectacular success as that of Rowling and Potter. Tamora Pierce is one, a particularly good writer, even if not as brilliantly gifted as Ms Rowling. Arguably, some of Pierce's stories are more satisfying than any given Harry Potter book, but the Harry Potter books are to Tamora Pierce's books as a Hollywood blockbuster is to a wonderful little Indie film. A lot of work has gone into the style and the stylishness of the Harry Potter books, and we can't all be J.K. Rowling. On the other hand, Tamora Pierce has written a score of books, many of them very, very good, and as far as we know, J.K. Rowling has not gone beyond Beadle the Bard, which is still squarely in the Potter universe. But she has plenty of time in which to prove that she is not just a 7-hit wonder.  

Archimedes