Thursday, January 31, 2013
Garbage In, Culture Out
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Revolting Academics

Monday, January 28, 2013
A Wealth of Words

Saturday, January 26, 2013
Secondary Thoughts

Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Idle Worship
“There is no such thing as not worshipping,” the writer David Forster Wallace once advised college graduates. “Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship.” He then delineated a litany of false gods that will fail us in the end: money, beauty, power, and intellect. With appreciation to Brain Pickings' Maria Popova for calling his address to our attention. This Is Water
Labels:
beauty,
David Forster Wallace,
education,
intellect,
life,
Maria Popova,
money,
power,
society,
speech,
worship
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
What We Read Shapes Who We Are
Since broadband began its rapid expanse at the millennium's start, Internet use has skyrocketed. In 2012, users topped 2.4 billion, more than one in three of Earth's inhabitants. Time spent online averaged 16 hours a week
globally (double that in high-use countries). “We have changed how we interact,” the New York Times confirms. “Are we also changing what we are?” The question was posed to three knowledgeable observers. Their responses raise others. Are We Becoming Cyborgs?
Monday, January 21, 2013
Parsing Punditry

Saturday, January 19, 2013
Tempus Non Fugit

Labels:
cyberspace,
Edge,
Nicholas Carr,
patience,
society,
technology,
time
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Word Inflation Drives Devaluation
“If we have a million photos, we tend to value each one less than if we
only had ten,” Yale University computer scientist David Galertner opens his reply to Edge's 2013 question: What should we be worried about? “The Internet forces a general devaluation of the written
word: a global deflation in the average word's value,” he continues. As
each word attracts less time and money from readers, it garners less time and effort from writers. As investment by writers and readers declines, society's ability to communicate decays, delivering what Galertner aptly describes as a “body blow to science, scholarship, the arts—to nearly
everything, in fact, that is distinctively human.” Worry About Internet Drivel
Labels:
communication,
cyberspace,
David Galertner,
Edge,
literacy,
reading,
words,
writing
What, Me Worry?

Tuesday, January 15, 2013
From Culture to Kitsch

Labels:
arts,
civilization,
culture,
education,
literature,
philosophy
Monday, January 14, 2013
Of Friends

Sunday, January 13, 2013
A Page Turner

Don't Burn Your Books - Print Is Here To Stay
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Worth Noting
Friday, January 11, 2013
Editors: An Endangered Species?
At first blush, it may seem somewhat
self-serving for my first reference to be to a commentary ― however cogent ― on
the decline and fall of the professional editor. If the editor's loss of
livelihood concerns me, however, the loss of quality editing concerns me far
more, for it is a death in the family, the familia literatorum of
editors, writers, and readers. As such, it should be mourned.
The Decline and Fall of the American Editor
The Decline and Fall of the American Editor
Thursday, January 10, 2013
A Word of Welcome
Welcome to Verbum Sapienti. This cybernook has been created to serve as a window to a world of words and information for my ESL students and others who share our love for words as germinators and carriers of ideas.
I hope it will stimulate your thoughts on matters worthy of your time and consideration, while enhancing your linguistic skills in sharing them with others. Of course, your ideas and comments are always welcome ― here or offline. ✍
I hope it will stimulate your thoughts on matters worthy of your time and consideration, while enhancing your linguistic skills in sharing them with others. Of course, your ideas and comments are always welcome ― here or offline. ✍
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