Monday, January 08, 2007

Intro

This blog is a discourse.

dis·course /n. ˈdɪskɔrs, -koʊrs, dɪsˈkɔrs, -ˈkoʊrs; v. dɪsˈkɔrs, -ˈkoʊrs/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[n. dis-kawrs, -kohrs, dis-kawrs, -kohrs; v. dis-kawrs, -kohrs] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation noun, verb, -coursed, -cours·ing. –noun
1.communication of thought by words; talk; conversation: earnest and intelligent discourse.
2.a formal discussion of a subject in speech or writing, as a dissertation, treatise, sermon, etc.
3.Linguistics. any unit of connected speech or writing longer than a sentence. –verb (used without object)
4.to communicate thoughts orally; talk; converse.
5.to treat of a subject formally in speech or writing. –verb (used with object)
6.to utter or give forth (musical sounds).


The question "why?" is the paramount question to ask. Almost all of us did so ad nauseum —at least those around us thought so— when we were small children. I posit that how people choose to answer the series of "why?" questions children pose to them has great effect on those children's eventual development as human beings.

As children, we all had to decide whether we would accept the perennial, pat answer provided to us by our askees. "Because." Having taken up the role of gadfly, and stung our askees to or beyond the point of anger, the final answer almost invariably comes out as "because." (A good askee ought to say "I don't know, let's find out together").

Do we accept that this is a question that cannot be answered? Or do we accept that this is a question that cannot be answered by the person asked? Do we find a different expert to ask?

In this forum, people of my choosing will respond to questions devised by me. If all goes according to plan (or doesn't) interesting things will be discovered regarding certain kinds of knowledge relatively diverse people possess. I am not an expert in all that many disciplines. Asking questions enlightens both the asker and the askee. The asker gets not only an answer to his or her question, but an insight into the askee. The askee gets an insight into the interlocutor by learning what he or she does not know. Additionally, both parties learn about each other and themselves based on how they react to question and answer.

Just remember that because is not a reason.

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