Gesundheit: Theme and Variations

"Bless You."

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(sneeze)

"Bless you."

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(sneeze) ... "Auntie Anne, I got 'bless you' on my finger."

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Andrew, peeing on the potty...

 (sneeze) ... "Whoah!!! When I 'bless you'd' when I was peeing, it made the pee go 'whoosh!'"

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I can 'bless you,' then get 'bless you' on my finger, and someone will state the obvious: Bless you.

Wow, that 'bless you' is powerful stuff.

Opposition in Semantics... an ongoing investigation

happy: sad

angry: happy (?) (relieved?)

helpful: harmful

good: bad

good: evil

good: ...not good.

The opposite of helpful--harmful? or "not helpful?"  The opposite of happy--sad? or "unhappy." or "not happy?"

What is the opposite of "indifferent?" If I am not happy, I'm not necessarily sad. Nor am I decidedly "angry." Perhaps I am "undecided" or "indifferent."

If something is "not good" for me, does that mean it is "bad" for me? Could it be neither good nor bad for me? Is its "lack of goodness" for me the very quality of being "bad" for me, because while it may not be directly harmful, it is taking the place of something that could have been beneficial? (e.g. Coffee isn't 'bad' for you so much as it is replacing something like water, which would be 'good' for you. Thus, in the very act of replacing what your body needs, is it by this fact alone 'bad' for you?)

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

"If you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything."

"You're either for us or against us."

"It's all or nothing."

I'm suspecting that this is some sort of 'western' mindset, perhaps rooted in Christianity? You know, light vs dark, good vs. evil, heaven vs. hell... Why are we so stuck on this in our language?

I'm wondering if, the farther from western influence and language you go, these holes are patched--or not even seen as holes at all?

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More opposition 12/2008

opposite = difference

on /= off        on drugs/off drugs

on /= not-on on drugs/not on drugs

I am the opposite of 'on drugs.' Does this mean I am 'off' drugs or does it mean that I'm 'not on' drugs? Think about the tremendous difference in implication here. One could omit certain information by stating "I am not on drugs," while knowing that the truth is he is "off drugs." But why advertise?

Likewise, a once-dear friend of mine with certain linguistic troubles would easily have said "I am not on drugs--I am OFF drugs," meaning that he had never done drugs. But what was implied in the way he worded it?

The word 'difference' also occurs in math. But are there mathematical 'opposites'?

What would the opposite of 6-3 be?

the difference is 6-3=3 

but the opposite?

6-3  6+3?  3-6? 

I would love to ask 100 people this question, just to see what their gut instinct is.

for the dictionary... Epidermogram

When you don't have paper handy, and your mind is exploding with ideas, you write on what's available--your skin.  (Talk about recyclable...)

Voila! The epidermogram is born.