sapiens

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, and I think it's about time I shared a thought or two on the Christmas story.

Just a reminder that these thoughts are my thoughts, and are not necessarily doctrine or scripture or Christmas canon. But I do think they're cool, and I hope that by sharing another perspective, it may spark thoughts of your own.

So, one of the components of the traditional Christmas story is the visit of the three wise men.  This is one of the greatest examples of how culture and tradition can override the actuality of what we know and what we don't know, because the culturally accepted story goes like this:

Three wise men, named Melchior, Caspar, and Balthasar, traveled from the East, following the star that was given as a sign of the birth of Christ.  They arrived at the manger and bore gifts of frankincense, gold, and myrrh to the young King.  Legend also holds that the wise men were of various ethnic origins.

This story and some variations is a part of many different celebrations worldwide.

The biblical description (found in Matthew 2) of the wise men goes more like this:

1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 

9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.  11 ¶And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

So from that, about all we know is that there was an unnumbered group of wise men who came from the east, following the star.  They arrived at a house and gave gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

The rest is speculation.

Here comes my speculation:

Because the Bible is so unspecific about the identities of these wise men, and
Because the Bible often refers to all humans as 'mankind' or 'man' (such as "Peace, goodwill to men,"), and
Because all are invited to come unto Christ and worship him,

I suggest the idea that the group of wise men could have included women and children as well.
The visitors from the east could well have been a family.

Whether this is a valid theory or just a neat idea isn't all that important. But I enjoy the thought because it brings another example of the importance of family into the Christmas story, and supports the fact that Christmas is a family holiday.  Whether you are religious or not, Christmastime is one of the greatest times to create memories with family.  And spending time with the family is indeed a wise thing to do.

I hope that we each can spend time during the holiday creating joy and goodwill with our families.  I believe that the best way to do this is by centering the family on Christ, as the wise men may have done millenia ago.

Happy Christmas, all.

verba [words]

So I should be studying for my final final, but life is pretty good right now and there's no need to be stressed, so it's a good time to post. :)

Also, a great time to go through all these emails that have piled up:

Haaa...these things are important.

On occasion, I do not get the opportunity to expand my vocabulary via email and my inbox is graced with a "word of the day" that I already knew.  Like "lexicographer" or "bibliophile".  I only wonder if there are people who subscribe to the word of the day who did not yet know those words...

But every now and then I find a word of the day that I really like, and I snatch it up instantly.  "Nominalize" is a great one.  I want to use it in sentences.  Also "antipodes".  The only difficulty, of course, is actually using these words in sentences.  This has a couple causes:

1) It is unfortunately infrequent that there is a conversation in which it is appropriate to use many of these words.  Often these words are large, ridiculous, and/or little-known simply because they are so specific and specialized to a certain topic or group.

2) Even if a good word-using opportunity does come up, the use of the word typically warrants and immediate definition of the word.

But, being the lexophile that I am, I still try to do it as often as possible.

So aside from being a bit of an insufferable know-it-all or winning hard in Balderdash, why on earth is it important to have big words?  Most of these words can be explained in only a few, much more familiar words:

• Bibliotaph: a person who hoards (doesn't necessarily read) books
• Gormandize: to eat ravenously
• Oniomania: an uncontrollable desire to buy things
• Hortatory: urging or encouraging action
• Gambol: to dance, skip, or frolic
• Crepuscular: active during or relating to the time of twilight; dim or indistinct
• Pandiculation: the act of stretching oneself
• Gratulation: a feeling or expression of joy (makes "congratulations" make sense, no?)
• Saporific: producing flavor
• Empyreal: pertaining to the sky; celestial

Obviously, Dictionary.com needs to have a discussion with Google's spell-checkers, because according to their program, none of the above are words...

Perhaps the most important reason to have big words, even if they're cumbersome and smaller words are easier understood, is because having big words give us the ability to change how we think.  

One of the few things that I remember distinctly from psychology is the Sapir-Whorf Theory of Linguistic Determinism.  The theory is that our linguistic capabilities are based largely in the languages we speak.  The words that we learn and use give us a distinct frame of reference for how we interpret and think about the world. For example,  someone who grows up in a snowy climate tends to have many more words to describe different kinds of snow, whereas someone who has only heard of snow may only use one word to encompass it all.  The theory tends especially toward indigenous languages that were developed along a specific culture and territory.  It has several criticisms (as all psychological theories do) but seems to generally be upheld to varying degrees.

For example, as I learned Spanish, I began to learn ideas that I hadn't ever had in English.  Sometimes things have a translation, but it still doesn't carry quite the same intrinsic meaning.  Sometimes the syntax changes everything around and you start realizing that 'getting married' is actually 'marrying yourself to' someone else.

But you don't even have to be bilingual to experience this. I think that this theory applies even within one language.  For example, many people speak and behave differently among different groups: with friends, at home, in professional settings, and so on.  In fact, one of the first things that you do when you begin to study something or join a new group is learn the vocabulary distinct to that discipline. Having those new words will help you to think along the same lines with those around you, communicate yourself better, and plant new ideas that you never even considered before...simply because there were no words for it.

Let's do an experiment:

The word 'coriaceous' means 'of or like leather'.

So think about leather for a minute.

And how it is.

And what it feels like, or looks like, or smells like.

Except this word, 'coriaceous', is an adjective.  And using it to describe leather would just be redundant.

So now think of some nouns you could put 'coriaceous' with. 

Go wild with it!  Forget all the things that are typically regarded as coriaceous, and just find ways that it might fit with something new.

Something you've never even thought was "leather-like" before.

...Did you find any exciting ideas?

Having words for things allows us to expand how we think about something.  It can help us be more empathetic when we finally put a finger on that feeling, whether that word be completely made up or not. It gives us a new frame of reference for the world we experience and, most importantly, allows us to share those thoughts and that world with the people around us.

Bigger words can indeed be better.

“The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.”

-Thomas Jefferson.