Subj : Re: PING Question To : Barry Martin From : Nancy Backus Date : Thu Feb 27 2020 01:44:46 -=> Quoting Barry Martin to Nancy Backus on 22-Feb-2020 09:34 <=- NB>> It wasn't something that I really needed at all... pretty much the NB>> courses I took were understandable enough even without any prior NB>> exposure, or I'd already had some some other way... Only two classes NB>> I really had any problems with were two advanced math courses, and NB>> there the problem was that my thought patterns, while valid from a NB>> logic point of view, weren't the exact same as the instructor, so NB>> while I'd understand his explanation, he'd never give me credit when NB>> I didn't do it his way.... and it wasn't something that I could just NB>> memorize so as to pass the quizzes and tests.... BM> Yes, I remember you posting that some time back. I remember I had BM> something similar with division and the "show your work" waterfall of BM> numbers below. I _know_ 3 goes in to 27 an even 9 times - so does just BM> about everyone else! Why waste time? I'll do and show the work with BM> something worthwhile! (No, didn't say that, but I was thinking it!) At least you were writing down your answers.... Our son, in his academic kindergarten math classes, wasn't writing down anything... his teacher knew that he understood the concepts, so couldn't figure why he wasn't producing anything on the tests... She brought it up at a parent-teacher conference, we all four were there, teacher, kid and both parents... Richard said to the kid, I know you know the answers, and the teacher knows that you do too, but you still need to write them down so that she can prove it to other people (or something to that effect)... You could actually see the lightbulb go on over his head... BM>> Maybe we just found why the new medication names are such a jumble of BM>> letters: have to make up a whole new word as most of the old words BM>> which could be used for combining are taken! ...Throw those Scrabble BM>> tiles and see what we come up with! NB>> Often the Brand names are something at least reminiscent of what the NB>> drug is supposed to be treating... and I think the generic drug name NB>> has some relation to what class of drug it is.... I realize you were NB>> just kidding about throwing the scrabble tiles, but that's really NB>> not how they do it... generally has something to do with the NB>> compound(s) making up the new drug(s).... BM> Yes, I was kidding about the Scrabble tiles but it sure seems like it BM> some times!! Especially with the really complicated generic names... BM>>> And English (or at least BM>>> American English) tends to absorb international words and phrases BM>>> readily whereas French (of France) tends to avoid adding new phrases, BM>>> rather preferring to stick together a bunch of current ones to create BM>>> the new. Can't think of an example currently but let's say Pita bread BM>>> of the Middle East. English would just call it 'pita', possibly BM>>> clobbering the original pronunciation; French might string together BM>>> "unrisen bread with the contents inside". NB>>> German's even worse.... piling it all into one very long complicated NB>>> word that uses all that string.... BM>> Tell me about it! This one came up (don't ask why!!): Consumer BM>> Analytic Production Attorney General (it's a mouthful in English!) ==> BM>> Generalstaatsanwalt fr Analytische Konsumgterproduktion NB>> That one's almost understandable... albeit an even bigger NB>> mouthful.... ;) BM> Yes, after the initial glance and shock at the word taking up half the BM> line (to English-speaking eyes, anyway) one starts seeing potential BM> words-within-the-word to make it understandable. Yup. BM> Half-thinking of the 13- and 15-letter word categories on _Jeopardy!_, BM> most of which are relatively common usage and so not as bad as one BM> initially things when hears "thirteen letters!!". BM> Generalstaatsanwalt is 19. BM> Konsumgterproduktion is 21. BM> Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is 34. And then there's antidisestablishmentarianism with 28 letters, which we used to parade out back when I was in highschool... a proper dictionary word even back then... ;) But the longest word in the English language is smiles... there's a mile between the two esses... ttyl neb .... MAC error msg: "Like dude, something went wrong" --- EzyBlueWave V3.00 01FB001F * Origin: Tiny's BBS - http://www.tinysbbs.com (454:1/452) .