ETC.: A Review of General Semantics articles from December 1996

ETC.: A Review of General Semantics archives from December 1996

Once, in Madrid. (newspaper kiosks managed by blind)
December 22, 1996... "Joan" I asked my friend as we walked the streets of Madrid on an early evening in late winter, "why does it say 'ONCE' on all the kiosks here?" Joan (pronounced YO-ahn) stopped to look at me. "'Once'? It says 'Once' on a kiosk?" "Not just...

A meta curriculum based upon critical thinking.
December 22, 1996... Two great problems besiege educators of the 90's. What can be done about the fragmentation and over-specialization of the traditional disciplines? How can students integrate what they learn for application to lifelong human issues? These...

On having four feet. (word usage in knowledge acquisition)
December 22, 1996... The other day, watching a television nature-show, I finally saw an erne. If you do crossword puzzles, then you probably know that "erne" provides the four-letter answer to the definition "sea eagle." I never bothered to look further into this...

Here and now, less worry. (dealing with fear in the present)
December 22, 1996... I worry too much. I worry about worrying too much. The economy, politics, crime, overpopulation, poverty, my health, my car, my bad habits, the environment... I worry about abstract stuff and particular stuff, and things I probably can't...

An approach to everyday living: a note regarding the calculus.
December 22, 1996... This essay reflects some of my current high order speculating-abstractings. I suggest readers apply visualization and imagination; "rational," "intellectual," and "logical" analysis alone will not help much. It would also help to remember that...

Similarity and semantics.
December 22, 1996... Consider the statement "Similarity is the foundation of abstract knowledge." (1) This may seem to be an obvious or simplistic observation. Contrast it with the general semantics practitioner's motto: "The map is not the territory." At first...

Developing a self-referencing system: the matrix.
December 22, 1996... This article describes how to extend somatic awareness in new directions, through an alternating series of theoretical models and self-reflexive exercises. I use the term somatic awareness to imply a first-person, here/now, sensory perception:...

The jigsaw puzzle as a metaphor for knowledge.
December 22, 1996... We commonly say that something is "a puzzle," or we are "puzzled" by something. A puzzle can actually be a very large and indeterminate situation, which stops us dead in our tracks because we don't know what to do. Sometimes I think that Nature...

"All the news that's fit to print" - et cetera.
December 22, 1996... I've long appreciated the message implied in the famous New York Times slogan "All the News That's Fit to Print." It seems to me an elegant expression of the high standards set by the Times and it suggests that other papers are probably...

There is nothing virtual about virtual reality.
December 22, 1996... Anyone who has visited an art museum lately must have recognized the presence of increasing numbers of computers. Cyberspace has begun to co-exist with, or, possibly more diabolically, infiltrated artistic space. The recent exhibition of John...

A general semantics glossary. (part 16)
December 22, 1996... higher order functions. In the XVth entry of the glossary I discussed the formulation, mathematical function, and how Korzybski built his system-function (general-semantics) from it. (1) You may want to review that glossary entry before...

The Dilbert Principle: A Cubicle's-Eye View of Bosses, Meetings, Management Fads and Other Workplace Afflictions.
December 22, 1996... According to Scott Adams the "Peter Principle" (competent workers are promoted until they reach their level of incompetence) has been supplanted by the "Dilbert Principle" (the most ineffective workers are systematically moved to the place where...

The Twilight of Common Dreams: Why America is Wracked by Culture Wars.
December 22, 1996... Can Whites, Blacks, Native Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Gays, Jews, Christians, Feminists, Fundamentalists, and a host of other identity category groups get along with each other and work toward achieving justice for all? Maybe, says Todd...

Desired Track: The Tragic Flight of KAL 007.
December 22, 1996... On August 31, 1983 Korea Air Lines (KAL) 007 was shot down some 350 miles off course in Soviet airspace by the Russian Air Force. The 269 people on board the 747 all perished. Why was the plane off course and why did the Russians shoot it down?...

Smokescreen: The Truth Behind the Tobacco Industry Cover-up.
December 22, 1996... Warren Buffett, an investment specialist and one of the richest men in America has said, "I'll tell you why I like the cigarette business. It costs a penny to make. Sell it for a dollar. It's addictive. And there's fantastic brand loyalty."...

The Social Art: Language and Its Uses.
December 22, 1996... Ronald Macaulay, a professor of Linguistics, presents in thirty-one brief chapters an overview of linguistic knowledge. He discusses topics such as syntax, semantics, conversation, literature, rhetoric, learning a second language, the history of...

Miss Manners Rescues Civilization: From Sexual Harassment, Frivolous Lawsuits, Dissing and Other Lapses in Civility.
December 22, 1996... Judith Martin, using the pseudonym "Miss Manners," writes an internationally syndicated newspaper column on questions of etiquette. In this volume, using a combination of essays and answers to her Gentle Readers' questions, she philosophically...

Luck: The Brilliant Randomness of Everyday Life.
December 22, 1996... Nicholas Rescher, a professor of philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh, former editor of American Philosophical Quarterly, and past president of the American Philosophical Association, knows something about philosophy. In this book he...

Walt Whitman's America: A Cultural Biography.
December 22, 1996... Walt Whitman said, "In estimating my volumes[,] the world's current times and needs [i.e., nineteenth century], and their spirit, must first be profoundly estimated." David S. Reynolds in Walt Whitman's America has done just this in an absorbing...

Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time.
December 22, 1996... Lines of latitude stay parallel to each other as they circle the globe from the Equator to the poles in a series of shrinking concentric circles. The meridians of longitude loop from the North Pole to the South and back again in great circles of...