Intoscience

Well, I'm no linguist so I could not say with any conviction. All I do know is that in the area I originate from the H is dropped in the pronunciation of almost every spoken word, e.g. Have - ave Happy - appy Hate - ate How - ow

This is very common were I live. My ex partner who was from out of the area originally constantly reminded me of this. Her view was similar to mistermack's that people from the area should get a better education on the English language. However she often took it a step further, which was one of a few things that irritated me, by insinuating that all the people from this area are "thick cavemen". The use of different dialect and slang doesn't bother me, I find it quite charming.

Where I originate from the use of slang was very extensive and in that area a language all on its own. So much so that anyone who is not from the area, or very familiar with it, will really struggle to understand/interpret what is being said. Interestingly though, for the past few decades this slang is slowly being filtered out and now most (mainly the younger generation) no longer use it, perhaps just a few lingering words and phrases. When I'm in discussion with an older person who was born and still lives in the area we talk to each other in this slang. But with the younger generation I tend to revert back to mostly standard English. Like mistermack I do often find myself wincing at the incorrect use of words. I by no means speak "The Queens English", but when I hear double negatives, or the one phrase that irritates me is when people say "he borrowed me his..." I find myself frowning. Thanks for all your responses, I find the subject very interesting.

Have you ever had a situation where you find yourself trying to explain that some words in the English language are spelt the same but mean totally different things depending on the context. For example the word - wind This can mean a feature of the weather, e.g. air movement. Or to rotate something, e.g. a reel of hose. My question is, would it not make more sense to either change the spelling slightly, or create a new word? What are your experiences and opinions on the subject and also please offer other examples!

Are you thinking that a really large black hole would have such gentle curvature that its approaching zero? Sounds like the idea 'the universe is just a very large black hole' even though space appears flat.

"Telling" anyone to do anything is not a good approach for someone suffering with depression. Best to subtly/tactfully suggest or gently encourage rather than telling. The key is to get the person to realise for themselves in their own way, so they feel like they have made a positive decision for themselves or others close to them. Tricky when they currently feel like everything is pointless.

The greater good of the majority I guess. 'because I have caught enough fish for the day' But what about tomorrow? Personally I'd go out and catch enough fish for tomorrow today. But then I would not do as the industrialist suggests in fear of expending all resources and missing out on smelling the roses during the journey rather than leaving it to the end.

Help us understand please Guardian.

That's a good point, mass depression due to the current state of affairs makes sense. Yes, find the root cause is key, though not always easy to put a finger on it since it can be an accumulation of a number of things of a long period of time. It's often recognised in some people depression appearing later in life that was possibly triggered from some trauma from childhood. I think it goes deeper than that, rather than encouraged to feel we are special, we are often reminded that we are not, but somehow should be. In the modern era image is rammed down people's throats, everyone tries to be/look "perfect", a superstar... This culture of falseness is not healthy, especially for the younger generation who feel such unnecessary expectation, then feel failures. My Grandfather used to crudely put it, "we are all born, we all eat, sleep, fart, piss and shit then we die. It's our legacy what makes us special, not the here and now" I think this was his way of saying that we are all equal, but each of us can choose to spend our lives being proactive for the greater good, or not.

Fortunately, people are becoming more aware and dare I say more tolerant for those that suffer. Especially as iNow mentioned, more so since the pandemic has accelerated the number of cases. It's good to see that this terrible illness is being taken more seriously recently, and I feel though there are many illness's that deserve more investment for research and treatment than they get, mental health should be up there near the top of the list. Mental health issues, in addition to being difficult to diagnose for treatment, also cause physical issues that can manifest at any time and some very serious ones at that. It all then becomes a vicious cycle, like a whirl pool that is difficult to escape from. All we can do on this forum is give people support and, as iNow excellently but simply stated- "You're not alone"!

I always have a "word of the day", one which I like to include in some correspondence or communication that day. Today I'm going to use this word. Thank you for the inspiration.

Yes, this in my own experience is something that you often see. Years ago, I was having many physical issues and went to see my GP. I was diagnosed with deep depression and the GP put me on mild medication and arranged counselling. I hadn't realised how low I was and that I was sinking further each day, I certainly never considered myself depressed!. The counselling really helped, by giving me a new perspective. But what I find helps me most these days, is setting myself goals, ones that are achievable but take time to get there with effort and commitment. This gives me something to focus on and some sense of purpose and stops me sliding back into the hole I was heading down years ago. A good friend of mine's wife is severely depressed and has attempted suicide. She is on strong medication and has regular counselling but this only keeps her head above water. I wouldn't have any idea what would help her. Though many techniques work to a degree, each case is individual and it's therefore difficult to find the right formula for everyone. The last thing a depressed person needs to hear is people saying "what are you depressed about, you have all these lovely things and you are still not happy..." They also don't appreciate being patronised with over sensitive comments either " you are such a wonderful person, you have all this going for you"... etc, this just seems to fuel the guilt they feel for being so low in the first place. I think depression is very sad and a deep concern, many people suffer silently!

Yes, I don't have a problem with open events. Open events offer people the opportunity to participate against those that they would not normally have the chance to. I do this very thing myself in my chosen sport where I will enter the open class thus competing against the elite athletes. I do so with the understanding that I have no chance whatsoever of ranking anywhere of any significance. I do so for the enjoyment not for the competition of trying to win. This matters not because my sport is my hobby not my profession. However if I want to compete to win then I have to enter the category where my peers are on a fairly equal standing (theses days in my case - age based). When I was much younger and was able to compete at the highest level, and get paid for doing so, then it was important that the category I entered was such that I was competing with a realistic chance to win. Where my hard work, efforts and years of dedication allowed me to show off my skills and be rewarded for it in the process. So in essence my stance is that open competitions are welcome and should be available for all that want to participate and/or compete. But for professional events then it's important that categories are set so as not to discriminate against those that are unfairly disadvantaged. Where those that have the dream of becoming the best (usually determined by winning) at what they do can exhibit their skills and be rewarded in the process for doing so. I believe this is what the general public would want and actually what they would demand for their hard earned money.

It's a difficult one, especially when decisions are made from emotional response. Not sure though if a child at 8/9 is mature and experienced enough to understand the implications of making such a life changing decision? After all, a child at that age would not even likely concern themselves with a good diet and education, more likely to eat candy and go just play and have fun all day. So at this point it becomes the responsibility of the parents to do what they regard as "best" for their child. It's even more difficult when different parents share differing opinions on what is the "best" way to raise their kids. Back to the thread, There is nothing stopping the rules from being changed in sports to allow for an "open to all" event, but there is no getting away from the fact that in many sporting disciplines the events will be predominantly dominated by men. At the elite level (I know you are not interested in this area, as you seem to feel that its irrelevant) where the money, spectacle and exposure is, this dominance will be even more pronounced and will result in non-inclusion for many, mainly females. I really don't see how this is a forward step - you are welcome to compete, but you are unlikely to win anything

Though the audience, and indeed the sponsors who pay the professionals, are not that interested in the 100th ranked. The majority want to watch the potential winners. This stinks of the modern culture of "its the taking part that matters, not the winning" well if that's the case then why have "competitions" in the first place? Why strive to achieve success? Competition is healthy and fundamental to development its the wanting to win that drives people to success. Take that away then there's no point to it all is there? If tennis and many other similar sports where "open" then all you will achieve is a discriminative outcome. Its a backwards step in my humble opinion.

There is a difference between "of use" and "matter to" lots of things matter to lots of people for a variety of different reasons. This particular thread doesn't "matter" to me, however, the subject I am particularly interested in. I haven't commented on your premise because I have nothing of value to add to what has already been discussed by others. My initial comment of "I doubt It" was in response to your delusional interpretation of the viewing numbers.

There are masses of people who are interested in science who are not scientists, myself included. This doesn't mean no scientists read threads like these, this forum has many scientists both active and retired. But as it as already been pointed out, the number of views is not an indication as to the quality or validity of the content. Plus, I certainly doubt a thread such as this is going to change many views, especially those who are experts in the field.

I doubt it.

Or, maybe intelligent life is common and abundant, and we are at the bottom of the scale, and not much different than thousands of other "more" interesting intelligence. Something I have considered is whether aliens would recognise us as intelligence in the first place? We often talk about maybe we cannot detect aliens because we do not recognise any signature of what we assume to be looking for. Maybe that works both ways?

It's an interesting story and the fact that your friend described what he saw and then another person completely (as far as you know) unconnected described the same thing a few years lately raises the interest and adds some validity to your friends account. Thanks for sharing it with us! My father had a similar experience when he was courting my mother. They had been out for the evening, whilst driving home he stopped at a layby to well... "use the toilet". At this point he saw what appeared to be a figure, grey in colour around human height and shape but not very discernible. Spooked he shot back into the car and asked my mother if she had seen anything, she said "only you crossing the road". He then explained that he had not crossed the road at any point, at which point it dawned on her that she had found it odd that he would have crossed the road and also that she couldn't really make out if it was him or not and that she had just assumed so. Neither of them are suppositious or believe in the paranormal. Even to this day my father always states that it was just an illusion due to him being tired. This might well be, and probably is the case, however the only oddity being that my mother saw a figure that was not my father cross the road at the same time.

True, it would be better if I'd said - Teaches you to consider as many perspectives as possible.

Well we have been learning for a long time and seem not yet to have learned our lesson, so go figure. A good teacher teaches you to view from all perspectives, leaving you to make up your own mind.

The question relies on the assumption God exists in the first place. Ok, so lets assume this is the case (not my belief by the way) are we talking about an all powerful omnipotent being that lies outside of the all known existence? Because if so there is no reason to assume any laws, logic or causality applies, therefore the very question could be moot. God may not have been created, God is just is. Personally though I'd go with (like many others have said) God(s) is/are a figment of human imagination.

+1

Your are correct of course, I do, and I'm sure others also agree that in some disciplines a system like this would work just fine. However the difference between male and female competitors extends beyond just skill sets, weight and height etc... Tell me how would iNow's system set the criteria for sports like tennis? Also, and I will chuck this one in there because I have experienced just this attitude only today at work. Some women don't not want to be forced into competing against men, they are proud of their sex and would like to maintain an equally accepted but separate category, where they can compete against each other on what they feel is a fair playing field. I think there are many more factors other than skill, weight, height strength... that play a part in performance overall between males and females. At the elite level where every little thing makes a big difference then those small differences can have a huge impact on performance, recognition and finances.