Friday, April 9, 2010

The hypocritical Bastard!



Caught your attention there with the title, havent I? ;)

Now before anyone starts jumping into conclusions, let me clarify that the bastard in question is not any person in particular, but in fact a language- The English language to be precise.

Why bastard, some of you may ask?

Its quite an obvious title that the language earns, if you really think about it. English has many fathers and owes a lot to various languages across the world for contributing to its heritage.

Disclaimer: Im not the first person to call the language a bastard!
The next apparent question is Why hypocritical? which brings me to the crux of what this post is about.

Newtons 3rd law of motion states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
Most of us use a multitude of proverbs in our daily conversations. But how many of us have paused, pondered and observed that Newtons law can very well be applied to English w.r.t. proverbs?! Every proverb has an equal and opposite proverb!(at least many of em)
Here are a few of my favourite observations...


1. If birds of a feather, flock together, then why do opposites attract??
2. If time and tide wait for none, then why is Patience a virtue??
3. If the more the merrier, then why do too many cooks spoil the broth??
4. If actions speak louder than words, then why is the pen mightier than the sword??
5. If he who hesitates is lost, then why should we look before we leap??

Get the drift?

Moral of the post: If ever, someone tries to justify an action with a famous proverb, you know you can always counter with another! ;)

11 comments:

  1. Refreshing Post...I must say !!!

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  2. Though its funny to look at it, a 2nd thought shows the obvious flaw in reasoning! (Pardon, I am doing plenty of AI - Reasoning courses :P)

    The proverbs apply to different situations. Of courses, their applications are subject to use of a positive intent.

    I could explain on these 4 if need be. :)

    Nonetheless, should thank you for putting it up; made me think about how we process language and meanings - the extensional, intentional and the contextual meanings!

    -Suraj

    P.S - If my nerd-factor has increased - well, can't stop seeing things in a different way! Damn Masters!

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  3. @sumanto: thanks dude
    @suraj: I agree with whatever Uv said, but please note that the article was essentially meant to be humourous, rather than a critical appraisal of the language. Nevertheless, appreciate the feedback!

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  4. he he.. good going kutti!!!!
    superb work.. but you cold consider shortening the introduction a little.. otherwise, loved it!!! :)

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  5. heyy.. awesome post.. never really thought of it that way.. but y am i not surprised u chose somethin like this for a topic?? :D.. and im glad u didnt cut down on the first para cuz that did grab my attention! :D

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  6. @hitesh,aj,dhanya : thanks a lot guys :)

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  7. must say this's crossed my mind more than once.. unfrtunately nevr strikes wen im in an argument,dammit..!
    gud obsvn anyways..kp it cumn !

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  8. absolute kicker bro , a very characteristic post from the Gangadharan family...
    @suraj : this one aint chinch mate ;) he knows his scope ..

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  9. masterpiece...i gotta learn frm u....!!!..

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  10. Hehe thanks mate...guess this'd make an excellent topic for conversation sometime, don't you think?:)

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