¶ Words
RBF Definitions
Time and again I find our vocabulary the most extraordinary phenomenon. . . that human beings before us have contrived these words and the thought that required these words. I see our vocabulary which would include all the words of all the languages as all the attempts of all men to communicate all their experiences and I am amazed at how many experiences must have gone before us and how many there must have been of them to generalize them to the point where you have a generalized word for experience. When I recollect I reconsider the significance of the collection and reconsider is a beautiful word because “consider” is putting together of stars. “Sider” is from the Latin “sedes” for star and “consider” is stars that stand together, as when we look at constellations. If we reconsider I review stars that seem to stand out in my experience. You are amazed at the poetic lucidity and eloquence of the thinking that went on before us that could invent the word “reconsider.” At times I am appalled with the velocity at which we use these tools without understanding the beauty and significance of their buildup."
