Why I Reread Books
Truth be told, I don’t just reread: I re-reread, re-re-reread, etc. certain books so often that others might consider me a little daft. But there’s method in my madness.
Jackie
About Jackie
Posts by Jackie Ralston:
Happy What Now?
Every year, I steel myself for this day and its unwelcome celebratory wishes. This year, I have a place to rant about it.
Those Pesky Homophones Again …
Today’s homophone pair highlights an increasingly widespread misuse of the older word.
About That “20 Seconds a Week” Claim
Bullshit claims in commercials is one reason I soured on television a few decades ago. Occasionally watching some news programs, I see they’re still around.
Of Roses and Odors and Word Meanings
One of my greatest difficulties as a college professor teaching Introductory Psychology was getting many students to see that commonplace words often have a more restrictive definition in psychology, so that they would use them more precisely in their work. This has long been an issue: common words were used in psychology and given more specific meanings (e.g., “learning” and “instinct”); and psychological terms’ definitions have changed and/or expanded over time (e.g., “psychopathology”). The recent misappropriation of a psychological term for another purpose has brought these issues to mind again.
My First Kiwi Idiom
The adage that “the United States and the UK are nations divided by a common language” probably applies equally well between any countries that were colonized by the British way back when. Physical proximity between the nations is probably not as important a factor in language drift as one might think, nor time frame: both Canada–the US and New Zealand–Australia support my assertion.
A Tribute to Ryan Holderman, One of the Best Teachers I’ve Had
I was a pretty typical, cocky high-school freshman some mumblety years ago: I was sure I had the system figured out, and thought I was ready for anything. Being fascinated by science, I signed up for Biology I. I had no idea what was about to happen to me …
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