calculator nspired students

[Don Shepherd]

Some students are as crazy as we are about calculators.

[Martin Pinckney]

It's alpha-capable, but alas, only one letter in the alphabet!

[Thomas Radtke]

Sweet.

[Don Shepherd]

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sweet

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Now THAT is an appropriate use of that adjective. I hate how the current younger generation uses that word for virtually anything that is deemed "good".

[Martin Pinckney]

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I hate how the current younger generation uses that word for virtually anything that is deemed "good".

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Kinda like our generation's use of the adjective "sexy."

At least the male half uses it. Generally, I've found the women can't comprehend that usage.

[Don Shepherd]

Martin, in my college English class (1969), I read the short story "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and So Forth" written by John Updike in 1955. In the story, a high school teacher intercepts a note in which a girl student says "I just love (the teacher)". I've always remembered this story because of the following excerpt, where the teacher lectures the girl after class about note passing:

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"And about love. 'Love' is one of those words that illustrate what happens to an old, overworked language. These days, with movie stars and crooners and preachers and psychiatrists all pronouncing the word, it's come to mean nothing but a vague fondness for something. In this sense, I love the rain, this blackboard, these desks, you. It means nothing, you see, whereas once the word signified a quite explicit thing--a desire to share all you own and are with someone else. It is time we coined a new word to mean that, and when you think up the word you want to use, I suggest that you be economical with it. Treat it as something you can spend only once--if not for your own sake, for the good of the language"

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Some things you learn in college stay with you.

[Martin Pinckney]

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"And about love. 'Love' is one of those words that illustrate what happens to an old, overworked language. These days ... it's come to mean nothing but a vague fondness for something ... It means nothing, you see, whereas once the word signified a quite explicit thing--a desire to share all you own and are with someone else. It is time we coined a new word to mean that ... for the good of the language" [edited only for the sake of brevity]

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Don, thanks for that quote.

As I am sure you know, the ancient Greeks had four words for "love", each with decidedly different connotations.

As rich a language as English is, I still don't understand how it "missed the boat" on such an important word as love.

[Massimo Gnerucci (Italy)]

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As rich a language as English is, I still don't understand how it "missed the boat" on such an important word as love.

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'cause it was "The Love Boat", of course... ;-)

Massimo

[Gerson W. Barbosa]

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As rich a language as English is, I still don't understand how it "missed the boat" on such an important word as love.

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English is a rich language because the British were given free Latin lessons and free French lessons in different moments in History. It's a pity Greek was never so widely taught in the island :-)

Edited: 17 Nov 2011, 3:57 p.m.

[Martin Pinckney]

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English is a rich language because the British were given free Latin lessons and free French lessons in different moments in History. It's a pity Greek was never so widely taught in the island :-)

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Good point! (LOL!)

[Walter B]

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It is time we coined a new word to mean that, ...

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Assuming you quoted literally, I'm just wondering about "coined" above. Simply looks the wrong time for me :-? Seems neither the Romans nor the Normans stayed long enough to teach grammar :-/

[Gerson W. Barbosa]

it is time + past subjunctive (unreal past)

That's a particularity of English Grammar. See point #293 here:

http://www.wattpad.com/23056-a-practical-english-grammar-by-thomas-%26-martinet?p=107

Edited: 17 Nov 2011, 5:39 p.m.

[Oliver Unter Ecker]

It's correct grammar. Read up on "conditional sentences" in English.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conditional_sentence

So, for example, you wanna say "it's time we talked about WP34S" and not "it's time we talk about WP34S", to give a completely hypothetical example.

I find the given definition of "love" very weak, though. The first attribute of "that what you sink your heart into" is the sharing of material goods?! C'mon!

Interestingly, the "old world", and, for sure, many other locales, have not embraced (or succumbed, if you will) to the inflationary use of this word, and others like it ("great" comes to mind), that should (or used to) carry some weight--for better, or worse.

[Gerson W. Barbosa]

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Interestingly, the "old world", and, for sure, many other locales, have not embraced (or succumbed, if you will) to the inflationary use of this word

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Except perhaps in France (j'aime du vin). Here (in Brazil) the verb "amar" is not used in these situations. Well, now that MacDonald's "I'm lovin' it!" has been translated as "Amo muito tudo isso!" I am not so sure of that anymore...

[Oliver Unter Ecker]

No. The French really *do* love their wine.

(And the Germans, sausages. The Italian, women (note, plural!). The British, probably, Marmite. Etc.)

“There is no sincerer love than the love of food.”

George Bernard Shaw

Edited: 17 Nov 2011, 6:20 p.m.

[Massimo Gnerucci (Italy)]

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The Italian, women (note, plural!).

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Dunno at your latitudes but, well, yes; we usually do. :)
Not everybody at our former prime minister's pace though...

Greetings,
Massimo

Edited: 17 Nov 2011, 10:08 p.m.

[Don Shepherd]

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the sharing of material goods

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I doubt that Mr. Updike used the word "own" in the sense of owning and sharing a washing machine or a coping saw, etc. Perhaps he meant something like owning a compassionate spirit or owning a belief in helping others who are needy, things like that. At least that's how I'd interpret it.

I think John Updike died a few years ago, so we can't ask him, unfortunately.

[Oliver Unter Ecker]

Ok, I'd buy that, if it weren't for what comes before and after:

"once the word signified a quite explicit thing"

This suggests that the word was once well-defined, and, to a lesser extent, universally so. I must doubt both very much, and would resent the authoritative tone.

"a desire to..."

No matter what comes after the "to", "a desire" is something that hasn't run its course, whereas more common beginnings "a feeling", "a state of mind", etc. certainly have. Love already "is"; it's not merely something anticipated, as "desire" would imply. Its weighty version is "final", too, which is certainly not something you'd associate with "desire". It feels very tentative, and reduces the complexity of that feeling (called love) unduly, I think.

"someone else"

Here the scope of love is narrowed to humans. What about causes, religions & other ideas, books, animals, and other common, non-trivialized objects of love.

But, hey, let's not forget this is a *character* of Mr. Updike's. It's not Mr. Updike's shot at explaining what love is.

Edited: 17 Nov 2011, 7:37 p.m. after one or more responses were posted

[Don Shepherd]

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explaining what love is

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On this forum, it's how you feel about your favorite HP calculator!

[Palmer O. Hanson, Jr.]

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On this forum, it's how you feel about your favorite HP calculator!

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Very sad, but very true.

[JDonley]

Love is not limited to humans. google "shep Ft. Benton Montana dog" and you will read about a dog that waited at the railroad station for over 5 years awaiting his master [who would never return] meeting every train every day hoping his sheep herder companion would return. If you can read Shep's story without tearing up, check to see if you have a pulse, and the obituaries for your name. Learned of this first hand while in FB many years ago.

[Eric Smith]

Similarly Hachikō waited at Shibuya Station in Japan every day for nine years for his master to return.

[Johnny Bjoern Rasmussen]

Some like HP-35 cake ;-)

Edited: 18 Nov 2011, 3:12 a.m.