the distance between words and wisdom

An aphorism is literally a distinction or definition, from the Greek αφοριζειν "to define". It is a very concise statement of a phenomenology expressing a 'general truth or wise observation', often in a clever way.

A gaffe is a verbal mistake, usually made by saying something that is 'true, but inappropriate'. In statistics, a "mistake" is the difference between a computed, estimated, or measured value and the true, specified, or theoretically correct value.

So a gaphorism is a repurposed aphorism. Gaphorisms recognise linguistic wisdom, but add to, or change their meaning or direction to give them new relevance. Consensus reality is based on embedded semantics; we love to reduce complex ideas and emotions to bullet points and jargon, ostensibly to aid in the transfer of meaning. Eventually, the meaning blurs and fades, but the words remain and the associated wisdom clings to them like the smell of dying roses.


Tuesday, 24 April 2007

In the beginning was the sword

Christianity: In the beginning was the Word.
I've never been a big fan or organised religion. It is without doubt the best place to find concepts reduced to phrases which become Truth. The phrase becomes cannon and is then scrutinised microscopically to determine its original meaning. A friend of mine calls the practice "Epistemological safety netting".

Historically, it's hard to deny that: "In the beginning was the sword."

Of course, if we go back a little further, we might have: "In the beginning was the turd."
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