Saturday, August 1, 2009

Prescient

Tom's Journal.
http://tomschuckmanjournal.blogspot.com/
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: foreknowledge of events: a: divine omniscience b: human anticipation of the course of events : foresight
pre·scient           Listen to the pronunciation of prescient \-sh(ē-)ənt, -s(ē-)ənt\ adjective


Down below is a definition I was curious about, and I like to know and understand what I am reading. I may be weird but I used to read the Dictionary in high school for fun! It may be because of some childhood issue where someone chastised me saying I didn't know what I was talking about-- or made fun of my youthful ignorance at the time. And I always had a strong desire to learn other languages, studying the only 2 foreign languages [French and Latin] offered in our small WI country school, Waterford High School, about 525 students at that time, 1967 graduate, but I really wanted German the most! I studied German in Germany [while in the Army] and on my own. So I have a good time when my VA appointed cleaning lady come over twice a week because she was born and raised in Germany. It's been my experience that people in/ from Germany are kind enough to help others understand their beautiful language. And German is VERY similar to ENGLISH! Go figure, the province of Saxony in Germany is part of the Anglo-Saxon heritage, IMHO.

When you learn a different language-- you are forced to learn about their culture. It is my opinion that ALL cultures have SOMETHING good to offer others. Medicine, craftsmanship, food, history. To know and understand other cultures fosters peace. Wars have been fought over misunderstanding and poor translation.

It's raining now in S.E. Wisconsin but the County Fairs are reporting many visitors!

Tom


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4 comments:

garnett109 said...

Hopefully it won't rain when you get there

Heli gunner Tom said...

From DB: Prescience is a subject I've been interested in for a long time. Some people think it's fortune-telling, crystal ball gazing, entrail reading. Spooky stuff. But it simply means foresight, or foreknowledge in it's most scientific terms. The more we know about the past and the present, the more we know about the future.

I've also been interested in foreign languages even though I'm a terrible student when it comes to learning them. I can pronounce them beautifully because I have a musical ear and I've been an actor all my life and have played characters with all sorts of ethnic backgrounds. But vocabulary, grammar and syntax? Forget about it.

I'm also interested in different cultures and enjoy reading about them. It clears the mind of a lot of prejudice and assumptions. I'm fond of pointing out to people that the Arabs, whom everyone fears so much, were the ones who gave the world the zero, without which we would still be using ox carts and having accounts that don't balance

Very interesting post Tom.

Heli gunner Tom said...

From Debbie in Kenosha, WI: I used to read the dictionary too! And the encyclopedias too. Never hear of that anymore. We haven't had a drop pf rain here either yesterday or today! Back out in a minute to water my flowers!

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natalie said...

these comments are very intuitive about culture and what you have posted is very important! thanks!
natalie