[lit-ideas] Re: Sunday waffle...

Ursula Stange wrote:
> This article came across my screen this morning and seemed related to
> the Sunday waffle.  It reminded me of an old Star Trek episode where
> the crew must try to communicate with an alien people who speak only
> in metaphor.  I've occasionally used part of the episode in my class
> because Capt. Picard tells the story of Gilgamesh.  I believe it was
> called "Darmok" but the most memorable line was "Temba, with arms
> wide."

**The "Darmok" episode is extremely useful in my communication courses 
-- been showing it for years also, Ursula.  Communication by metaphor 
only -- is an incredible concept to grasp for undergrad Comm. majors.

TC,

/Steve Cameron, NJ

> 
> Coincidentally, I reread this week, George Orwell's little treatise
> on the demise of the English language.  He makes the point that some
> metaphors get so old and stale that they no longer carry their
> original meaning with them and get used entirely superficially (and
> misquoted into the bargain).  His example was the use of 'towing the
> line' for 'toeing the line.'  What power can a metaphor have if half
> the population associates the wrong image with it?  Perhaps it
> doesn't matter, though.  The phrase eventually takes on a meaning of
> its own which we can learn from context.  We understand the idea of
> limelight, for instance, even when we don't know why it's called
> that.
> 
> http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=000BE01D-E7E3-1294-A7E383414B7F0000
> 
> 
> Ursula, towing the line all by herself in North Bay
> 
> 
> 
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