[lit-ideas] Re: America's Greatest Word
- From: Donal McEvoy <donalmcevoyuk@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 31 Jan 2011 16:35:53 +0000 (GMT)
--- On Mon, 31/1/11, jlsperanza@xxxxxxx <jlsperanza@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> I cannot see how the thumb and first finger forming a
> circle may be taken to indicate the rather precise concept
> of "Old Kinderhook".
Perhaps I should have mentioned that, in addition, the other three fingers are
raised upright, to form a kind of rabbit shape [or should that be duck?]. Like
the 'thumbs-up', this can be done with two hands for extra emphasis (though if
you have hooks for hands it is probably best just to shout as your praise
gesture may be misinterpreted as threatening and result in a fatality).
JLS' point, about it being obscure how such a gesture could "indicate the
rather precise concept", is doubtful:-
(1) There is no necessary correlation between the degree of precision of a
concept and the precision required by the means of expressing it - a "precise
concept" like, say, '3' may have a sign that is not so precise, and which can
be successfully conveyed by individuals in a variety of ways; and a quite
imprecise notion, like anything by Heidegger, may require very precise means to
convey it.
(2) While it may be as precise as the 'GFAMultiply' and 'Swivel on it'
concepts, the concept of 'ok' is arguably not a very precise one compared with
'3', usually conveying a meaning that achieves only o.k. levels of precision
and rarely features in even elementary math.
The WhiteHouse/CIA/NASA discussions did not canvas the possibility that the
first words and accompanying gesture on the moon be "Swivel on it" or such,
with Armstrong adding "One small step for yet another triumphant American, one
giant kick in the ass for anti-Americans". So we do not know whether they would
have agreed with JLS that
"The f- word comes complete with a finger sign, but in general, praise words do
not"
and might have be swayed by this convenience to opt for an f- word or similar.
Donal
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