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Crotchets: Magical Thinking in Cats

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Saturday, September 15, 2012. Magical Thinking in Cats. The psychologists have given us the concept of magical thinking. It has been generally supposed that only humans exhibit magical thinking, as it has been generally assumed that only humans think. But my cat has shown beyond doubt that the phenomenon is not restricted to H. sapiens. Or praying on her paws? If anyone has an animal that exhibits similar behavior, I’d love to hear about it. Christine C. Janson. Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom).

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Crotchets: December 2009

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Monday, December 7, 2009. Many years ago, I was given a paperback copy of a book called. The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way. As a gift. So crammed are my shelves with unread books I’ve only just got around to reading it. I stumbled across it by chance a week ago and was drawn to it because I had covered some of the same territory in an earlier article,. Mispellers of the World, Untie! I wanted to see what the author, Bill Bryson, had to say and see whether I had left out anything major.

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Crotchets: Snakes and Mice and Bones, Oh My!

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Tuesday, August 14, 2012. Snakes and Mice and Bones, Oh My! About a year ago, while clearing the path around the house that passes this part of the yard, I decided to investigate the area for the presence of small bones. I found none. Not one. Dozens of creatures went to their maker in this space, and there is no evidence of it whatsoever. Even small bones would take more than a few years to disintegrate entirely. Where are all the bones? Mysteries are everywhere in this world. Christine C. Janson.

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Crotchets: January 2011

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Wednesday, January 19, 2011. About a year ago, I coined the word. To describe the variety of symbols used to facilitate this new form of written communication. I am ready now to assert that we need this word and attempt to define it. There are many ways to shorten and compact the standard written forms of words and phrases, and. Of the first person is also being left to the lower case, and the use of an. As “u” is for. They are not abbreviations. I cannot comfortably call them homophones, because the...

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Crotchets: January 2010

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Sunday, January 3, 2010. Yule Know Next Time. The darkest month of the year, when we lose daylight at the depressing rate of more than two minutes per day, until the winter solstice marks the turning point. Humans crave light at this dark time, and electricity allows us to indulge this craving shamelessly. No wonder the ancients turned the solstice into a weeks-long festival of lights. Is it actually the shortest day of the year? Is it actually the first day of winter? Pagan or Christian, the midwinter f...

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Crotchets: February 2009

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Thursday, February 12, 2009. The Novelty Wears Off. I’m not sure when it started: maybe the ’70s, maybe the ’80s. I do remember objecting the first time a broadcast television program promised me an “all-new episode! 8221; In a matter of weeks this ridiculous phrase had spread like the measles to spot the other networks (all three of them; ah, the bad old days). Now no premiering episode is ever dissed as being anything less than. Simply won’t do anymore, has been completely cheapened and corrupted.

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Crotchets: April 2009

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Saturday, April 4, 2009. Mispellers of the World, Untie! Spelling is a very rigid branch of the tree of knowledge, and some people fall off it on a regular basis. The problem begins in grade school, where weekly spelling tests can engender sweaty palms before and despairing puzzlement after. You were sure there was only one. How can there be only one. Can anyone make sense of. Is (generally) masculine,. Is feminine, and. Feminine singular) and cinq fleurs. Feminine plural). Perhaps the Saxons were th...

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Crotchets: September 2012

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Saturday, September 15, 2012. A recent Homegoods ad is a perfect illustration of the average American’s ignorance of the metric system. The hard-shopping character is showing off her finds. Pulling out a 12-inch-high ceramic vase, she coos “Twenty-five grams of awesome! While I don’t really expect copy writers to know metric equivalents off the cuff, I think they should make some. Attempt to get it right. Being off by a factor of 20 to 40 is inexcusable. Christine C. Janson. Links to this post. What&#821...

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Crotchets: January 2009

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Thursday, January 29, 2009. Words expressing size or quality are always relative. How big is big? How ripe is ripe? How quiet is quiet? In determining the applicability of any descriptive term, we must rely on ranges and averages as much as definitions. Room temperature might range from about 30 to about 90 degrees depending on the kind of room (tent? And the season (summer? So there is leeway in defining terms that express size or quality, and we acknowledge the absurdity of juxtapositions such as.