Scratch Your Brains

Listed below are some seemingly complex sentences. Each sentence is actually a very simple phrase.

For example:

01. "Individuals who make their abodes in vitreous edifices would be advised to refrain from catapulting perilous projectiles."

The above sentence simply means, "People who live in glass houses should not throw stones."


Now, can you spot the familiar phrases from these:

02. Where there are visible vapours having their provenance in ignited carbonaceous materials, there is conflagration.
03. Exclusive dedication to necessitous chores without interludes of hedonistic diversion renders Jack a hebetudinous fellow.
04. The person presenting the ultimate cachinnation possesses thereby the optimal cachinnation.
05. Surveillance should precede saltation.
06. It is fruitless to attempt to indoctrinate a superannuated canine with innovative maneuvers.
07. It is fruitless to become lachrymose of precipitately departed lactile fluid.
08. Freedom from incrustations of grime is contiguous to rectitude.
09. Members of an avian species of identical plumage tend to congregate.
10. Male cadavers are incapable of rendering any testimony.
11. Neophyte's serendipity.
12. A revolving lithic conglomerate accumulates no congeries of small, green, biophytic plant.
13. All articles that coruscate with resplendence are not truly auriferous.
14. Sorting on the part of mendicants must be interdicted.


I shall provide answers after all of you have attempted. :)
Good luck!
(Smiles)

Kill For a Myth - II

Dear readers,

Thank you for your response to "Kill For a Myth".

Your questions were very valid, but it was a surprise to see that some of you found it difficult to identify myths. Let me try to help. Please think about the following:

Consider Karna. Conceived out of Kunti's ear! I'd sure like to see a baby fall out of a woman's ear. Fact or myth? You decide.

What about the Kauravas? I can understand twins, triplets, or even quadruplets. But a hundred chunks aborted out of a single womb, and incubated in pots into healthy babies! And that happened in what century? Fact or myth? You decide.

Hanuman! I'd sure like to see the wind impregnate a woman, so she could give birth to a talking monkey! And this monkey could grow or shrink to any size it desired! Zoology has no idea about what allowed for those feats. Fact or myth? You decide.

And Dragons! Evolution proves that the more intelligent dinosaurs were relatively smaller creatures. The larger dinosaurs had relatively smaller brains. Rationally, the larger and heavier a creature, the less capable it is of flight. But dragons? Huge, highly intelligent mutants, able to breathe fire, and to fly at great speeds! Fact? And some of them are even supposed to live in the oceans. If they are so huge and have such fabulous characteristics, I should think that they must be quite easy to spot. Well, nobody has ever found any. Even deap sea explorations by our scientific community have not discovered any. So, where are they? I would sure like to see their bones in some meuseum. Fact or Myth? You decide.

I could go on and on, but the effect would be hardly worth the effort. Sit back and think for yourself.


PS: The problem is not that we don't know some things in life. The problem is that some of us wish to keep it that way.

Kill For a Myth?

A myth is a popular belief that is false or unsupported by facts. It is, simply, unreal. I have never been a fan of mythology, but its power has always held me in awe.

Mythical tales are undoubtedly great bedtime stories for kids. However, I also know adults who believe that such tales are real history, and they would go to any extent to uphold their faith. I repeat: any extent! Recently, when i told someone that the stories of Hercules are fantasies, not much unlike the stories of Mickey Mouse, I was just lucky enough to escape a fatal kick!

Are there not enough real problems to worry about, to study, and to find solutions for? And yet, it is amazing to see the strength with which an artificial history captivates the human mind, and enslaves cultures into believing something that never was.

What is funny is that the very traditions and religions that uphold truth and condemn lies, also propagate lies in the form of mythical fantasies. And many people around the globe seem to be mystified by such lies, and are ready to commit murders to uphold their faith.

There was a time when people around the world used to believe that a bunch of dinosaur bones belonged to some mythical dragon. At this rate, I would not be surprised if I soon saw people praying to Sherlock Holmes, believing him to be the God of logic and reasoning.

Such a pity!

...

Sadness

Feeling very sad about a lot of things.
A gnawing sensaton, in my heart, rings.
Inexplicable, strange, making little sense.
Want of affection seems to be a penal offense!

Under the guise of praise, a verbal sarcasm.
Punished by Shadow, flung into the Chasm.
The depth that I love and, as my own, cherish.
Now estranged, I have fallen in to perish.

I bow to thee, O silent assassin.
Give me but one gamble to win.
I bow to thee, O Chasm, deep.
At least a hug before I sleep.

Inspire Me!

What is common to all our great scientists, visionaries, poets, writers, philosophers and sages?

All of them have a worm inside them - a willingness to challenge all established beliefs, to transcend preconceived notions, and to meditate on the subject in hand - a relentless, voracious worm. They are all soldiers, who will not stop until they are dead.

Why am I writing this? To inspire myself! To awaken and stimulate that dormant worm inside me. Wake up, worm! And promise me that you will not let me sleep until my purpose is served. Disturb me! Ruffle me up! Provoke me, now!


By the way, I am okay.

An exercise of the above nature is very refreshing. It really invigorates the worm in you.
Do try it at home, and let me know when you reap the wonderful rewards.


WARNING!
Don't try this exercise while driving. ;)

Made in Heaven!

Preamble

A few days ago, Amy unveiled a very conscientious entry in her blog, about disintegration of marriages. After posting my comments on that article, I gladly retired to the more dependable precincts of my bachelorhood. However, the rabid neural network in my skull continued pondering, as it always does when confronted by such grave issues, over the questions that she had raised. There was, in her composition, something that ought not to be ignored by anybody, in general. Yet again, there was just a hint of something that stimulated me to compose a supplement herein.

NOTE: At the very outset, I must remind the readers that the complexity and gravity of this subject do not permit one to exhaustively deal with it in a few paragraphs. Even as I write these lines, a plethora of unstructured thoughts and concepts overwhelm my mind. But, owing to several limitations, and also hoping to maintain reasonable clarity of thought, I am bound to present my case succinctly. The views expressed below are my own, and I remain open to any criticism from my readers.


Made in Heaven

Are marriages made in Heaven? Are they, without exceptions, disposed by an omnipotent entity? If so, why do so many of them fail?

Consider any two people who, apparently destined to do so, come together and bind each other into a relationship, each uttering the key words, “I do”. The colorful hallmark on the partnership deed boldly declares: “Predestined Pair; Made in Heaven”. The only trouble is that the fine print, as it always happens, is overlooked. Partnerships thus formed, are often inclined to be a burden on both partners. The reasons should become quite obvious as you read on.

A relationship is naturally only as strong as the similarity in temperament of the partners. But, no two people can be perfectly alike in their disposition; there are bound to be differences. In order to maintain harmony in the relationship when challenged by the differences, charming concepts such as love, understanding, caring and sharing are packed with it.

In several cases, these concepts are held on to just as long as the couple has to move around in their little social circles. Outside the public perimeters, the colorful masks are peeled off, and the true, disparate faces come to light. When reality starts biting, issues such as compatibility, negotiation and compromise raise their demanding hood.

Whoever believes that marriages are predestined, advocates the absence of free will, and therefore, may not suggest compromises. Asking one or both partners to compromise on any of their personal philosophy, inherent attitude, or instinctive behavior - human attempts at making them compatible with each other – would be a clear indication that the relationship was not preordained, unless one confidently believes that God, as well, is not perfect.

Whoever believes, moreover, that marriages are predestined, should have no reservations in believing that its consequences – whether happy or sad, including any subsequent breakups in the relationship - are also fated. Therefore, it would seem that the outcome of a marriage made in Heaven is not predictable, with any certainty, by humans. But this apparent uncertainty would last only until one cares to read the fine print that was initially ignored.

If you are still wondering what the fine print is, here it is:
“Relationship subject to mutual acceptance.”

I have grown to believe, personally, that compromises afflict relationships, that they create an artificial sense of compatibility, which lasts just as long as the partners honor their compromises, and that the relationship itself becomes weaker with each bargain between the partners.

My personal line of reasoning is, therefore, that the key to an unbreakable relationship is “mutual acceptance”. It is neither about expecting the other half to change to suit ones needs, nor about finding middle ground suitable for both. It is, with all certainty and without any qualifications, about accepting the partner for who she/he is. A marriage would survive the test of time only as long as the partners accept each other thus. Acceptance also happens to be the key feature of true friendship. No doubt, wonderful partners are also the best of friends.

It is not as easy as it sounds, of course. It requires a great attitude to accept people for who they are, with all their strengths and weaknesses, with all their little idiosyncrasies and values. It takes more than love. Repeat: it takes more than love! It takes respect; it takes devotion. While we can only fall in love, we can certainly rise in devotion.

When the to-be partners say, “I do”, they essentially mean, “I accept”. In doing so, they bind themselves not only by the bold declaration of the colorful hallmark, but also, whether they like it or not, by the message in the fine print. Those who ignore it at the time of uttering the two decisive words are truly unfortunate.

But those who realize the value of the message are indeed blessed by Heaven, and an omnipotent force secures their bond with the wedlock; and nothing, not even death, can do them apart!

_______________
P.S.: The views expressed above are my own, and I remain open to any criticism from my readers.

Lingua Pura

The pure language is the one without words.

Surprised? Don't be. If "communication" is the activity of clearly conveying information, and if "language" is the accepted medium, then we cannot afford to miss the language without words. And we certainly cannot afford not to understand it. For, nothing can ever be "communicated" better with words than without.

Languages have evolved over time. Words have been borrowed and lent; idioms and pharases have been "coined"; lexicons continue to be revised. Have languages really improved? Or have they only become more and more complex with time?

For instance, look at these sentences:
"The chicken is ready for lunch" and "The children are ready for lunch"
"A jail is a prison" but "A jailer is not a prisoner"

Now, let us consider a word at random: Is "Crib" a verb or a noun?
In "crib a construction hole", crib is a verb, which means "line with beams or planks".
To crib is also to cheat, to copy or to steal.
As a noun, crib could be a baby bed with high sides made of slats, it could be a bin or granary for storing grains, or it could mean the cards discarded by players at cribbage.
In cryptanalysis, a crib is a sample of known plaintext.

In addition to the above, we also have to be concerned with issues such as differences in accents, cultural influences that alter the definition of words or even sentences, idiosyncrasies of spellings, "twists" of grammar, infiltration of "slangs", to name only a few.

What, then, is the result of evolution? Firstly, we are unsure of communicating what we are trying to. Secondly, our "medium" with words is not "pure".

"Lingua Pura" is the one that has no words, it depends on no words to convey information. Therefore, it can convey clearly, it can convey exactly. It is the one true "universal" language.