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Author Topic: Henry Worsley dies attempting Antarctic crossing  (Read 6183 times)

stamper

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Re: Henry Worsley dies attempting Antarctic crossing
« Reply #20 on: January 30, 2016, 04:48:21 am »

Mountaineers deliberately choosing to climb mountains in bad weather is a similar form of selfishness. When things go wrong they expect - and get it - rescuers to promptly arrive and save them and to make matters worse they repeat their selfishness by returning to the mountains. No thoughts for relatives who worry about them. As I indicated earlier it is the relatives I feel sorry for the most. :(

Zorki5

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Re: Henry Worsley dies attempting Antarctic crossing
« Reply #21 on: January 30, 2016, 02:50:35 pm »

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less."

I had one of those "annotated" editions of Through the Looking-Glass where "notes" occupied about 1/4 of each page on average. The note to the sentence you quoted said something to the effect that that was, in fact, Lewis Carroll's "official position" on the meanings of words.

We may or may not agree with such approach, but it definitely explains language changes over time, including the one with the word "explorer".
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Colorado David

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Re: Henry Worsley dies attempting Antarctic crossing
« Reply #22 on: January 30, 2016, 06:08:00 pm »

Ancient Greek is a concrete language. Words have their meaning. Modern English is fairly euphemistic, so words are open to interpretation and don't always mean what you want them to besides the potential for them changing over time.

Tarnash

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Re: Henry Worsley dies attempting Antarctic crossing
« Reply #23 on: January 30, 2016, 10:10:14 pm »

I think that perhaps we are all `explorers', in one way or another,  though few of us may want (or claim) the title even if it were bestowed on us.  I believe too that a degree of `selfishness' is an almost essential prerequisite to any such undertaking (ambition or drive might be suitable alternatives).  Regardless of all of that, I believe Mr Worsley was a courageous man and his loss a sad one.  That said, I'm off to `explore' some photographic opportunities - though I seriously doubt that I'll discover anything entirely new. ;)     
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Zorki5

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Re: Henry Worsley dies attempting Antarctic crossing
« Reply #24 on: January 30, 2016, 10:15:48 pm »

Ancient Greek is a concrete language. Words have their meaning. Modern English is fairly euphemistic, so words are open to interpretation and don't always mean what you want them to besides the potential for them changing over time.

I agree with everything you said about languages, but I'd argue that languages' qualities just reflect the societies that use them.

Modern world changes beyond recognition during lifetime of a single generation, and languages simply follow that change. "Notebook" today means not what it used to mean when I was young, and "explorer" is undergoing a very similar transformation.
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amolitor

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Re: Henry Worsley dies attempting Antarctic crossing
« Reply #25 on: January 30, 2016, 11:10:23 pm »

Word meanings evolved in ancient Greece, you know.
Perhaps not as rapidly as English has evolved, but then, Greek does not actively and constantly mug other languages and steal their words.
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Jeremy Roussak

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Re: Henry Worsley dies attempting Antarctic crossing
« Reply #26 on: January 31, 2016, 04:15:48 am »

Greek does not actively and constantly mug other languages and steal their words.

That's an exceptionally silly use of words, particularly "mug" and "theft".

Jeremy
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Eric Myrvaagnes

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Re: Henry Worsley dies attempting Antarctic crossing
« Reply #27 on: January 31, 2016, 09:24:49 am »

That's an exceptionally silly use of words, particularly "mug" and "theft".

Jeremy
I agree.
I was drinking coffee from my mug while I was stealing your words.

By the way, Humpty is one of my favorite philosophers.

-Eric
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-Eric Myrvaagnes (visit my website: http://myrvaagnes.com)

Nelsonretreat

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Re: Henry Worsley dies attempting Antarctic crossing
« Reply #28 on: February 01, 2016, 01:39:06 am »

I'm sorry for the man and sorry for his family but ultimately this was pure self-indulgence. "It's for charity" adds nothing: there are better, safer ways of raising money.

Jeremy

Couldn't agree more. I'm sick of those tiresome self indulgent people who raise money for charity. I'm even more sick of those idiots who go out and do brave difficult things while the rest of us sit and home and write messages on furums. Those darn money-raisers deserve all the criticism they get..even better if it's done posthumously in my view. Saves us having to listen to them defend themselves.
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