Re: what is etymology? (linguistics and biology)

An addendum to my reply to Pat from yesterday wherein I told
about my recent experience with a TV company: I compiled
a CD for them, and if you like you may order a free copy via
e-mail (my e-mail address works, no spam trap). The topic
is: geometry in art, and making pictures speak (the latter of
concern for sci.lang). It includes the following:

Poseidon from Cape Artemision, geometry

Surface geometry in Piero della Francesca, Leonardo
da Vinci and Raphael (large drawings, reconstructions)

John the Baptist as a symbol of the artist, and Christ
as a symbol of nature:

Andrea del Verrocchio and Leonardo, Baptism of Christ

Madonna of the Rocks, Louvre version

John and Christ as infants, embracing; London,
private collection

Burlington House Cartoon (original format reconstructed)

Madonna of the Rocks, replica in London

John the Bapist on the shore of a river (once in Bergamo,
lost since WWII) and the Nymph (Windsor collection)
as small cartoons for a pair of planned murals in the
former audience room of the Belvedere, Vatican, Rome

John the Baptist, Leonardo's legacy

The files have a total of about 360 Megabytes, the typical
bitmap drawing has a size of about 12 MB, so you need
a fairly good computer, preferably one with a large screen
and Explorer 5 or 6.

By the way: the TV woman I mentioned is for real, while my
astrologer was of course invented, a joke. I thought my wording
"fine magic crystal ball" was enough to mark the joke - alas,
it wasn't so, a computer linguist (presumably) took it dead
serious. This goes to show that computers are programmed
for one word 1 meaning 1 tonality 1 level of sense, no irony
and humor.

FG

Pat wrote:

But surely you hold the record for most consecutive posts to a single
topic. And I wouldn't be surprised that you hold that record multiple
times. You carry on the most interminable monologues! What does that
say about your deep needs?

You are accepting that part of my definition of language,
then? Language is the means of getting help, support
and understanding from those we depend upon in one
way or another --- and every means of getting help,
support and understanding may be called language,
on whatever level of life it occurs. My needs are obvious.
I am a scientist, and wish to make a living, as everybody
else. I studied on my own, and am now working outside
academe since more than 31 (thirty-one) years, always
excluded from puhlishing. It happens ever the same
way. Just a recent example. By the middle of past
November I was contacted by a woman from a British
TV company that produces documentaries for the BBC
and Discovery Channel. The name of that company has
to do with a famous saying by Aristotle: give me a fix
point outside the universe and a long enough lever,
and I shall unhinge the world for you ... Now that woman
was very kind, she wrote me 44 (fourty-four) e-mails
between the middle of November till Christmas, she
wanted to win my participation for a documentary,
I answered all her many many questions, took my time,
wrote very long replies, realizing that she understands
little of the subject matter, she was always grateful,
"it's always such a big big pleasure to read your emails"
"bestest regards" and so on, then in January I got two
pannetone from Italy, and a short e-mail that I shall
get a long one, and since then - nada. It happened
before, the media interested in my work, all enthusiasm,
then they contacted a professor, and all went dry,
no more response, and in the end - nothing. Or, worse,
they wrote an arcitlce of the sort I call a birdfish -
a poor cretur that can nuther fly nor swim. I realized
that another birdfish is underway, quite frustrating,
I can tell you, and now the killrating that happens as
I immediately foresaid. Yet know that I have a built-in
mechanism that helps me overcome frustrations in
my work: I overcome adversities by getten bolder
and more creative. Now from the boldness of my work
I publish here you can measure how many frustrations
- professor-induced, I can tell - I had to overcome, and
it is certainly a deep need to get rid of one's frustrations,
a healthy need, at that. As for the sci in sci.lang:
you can always have me for a scientific discussion.
If you find my messages silly, pick out the most
silliestly point, and we may discuss it. So we can
make sure that the discussion doesn't overflow and
remains on-topic. Here in this thread - which is mine
and belongs to me, as my good friend An Elk used
to say - the topic is etymology. Next time please
ask me a question regarding etymology, or point
out a stupidity of mine, the biggest one, and I will
tell you what my more explicit ideas are - did I fail
making myself understandable? did I jump to
a conclusion too quickly? is something wrong with
my argument? reparable? or irreparably? and so on.
If you got nothing to say on etymology, please let me
go on with my work. Most other people in the Usenet
and still many in sci.lang consider a scientific group
a chatroom, it's their beer not mine. I use the great
facility of the Usenet for publishing my ideas, and
for developing them online. Not just for the people
who join sci.lang just now, for others as well who
may stumble upon my messages in the archives.
By the late 1990s I asked my astrologer for advice:
will there ever come something from my work?
She had a long look into her fine magic crystal
ball, shook her head, and said I am a hopeless
case. Nobody will be interested in my work. Not
until around 2011 or 2012, when a pair of young
people will stumple upon one of my papers or
articles or books, she can't see really clear, but
I may hold on if I got the courage ...

I certainly do

Franz Gnaedinger www.seshat.ch

.

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