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Showing posts with label ellipsis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ellipsis. Show all posts

Saturday, January 14, 2017

The Ellipsis--Hot, Hot, Hot, Dot, Dot, Dots. . . And the Solar Eclipse of August 21, 2017

      This week's Partial Ellipsis of the Sun will focus on the ellipsis in our blog title as well as the upcoming solar eclipse, visible in the U.S. on August 21, 2017. 




     I discovered this week that three dots on clothing labels signifies hot, hot, hot (ok, truly just "hot," but you get the idea)





.  .  .and look at our logo!



      Ellipsis, from the Ancient Greek: ἔλλειψις, élleipsis, "omission" or "falling short") is a series of three dots that usually indicates an intentional omission of a word, sentence, or whole section from a text without altering its original meaning (Look! A typewriter!)







      Depending on their context and placement in a sentence, ellipses can indicate an unfinished thought, a slight pause, an echoing voice, a leading statement, or a nervous or awkward silence. 




     Aposiopesis is the use of an ellipsis to trail off into silence, for example: "I wonder about where to go to view the August 2017 eclipse. . ." When placed at the beginning or end of a sentence, the ellipsis can also inspire a feeling of wonder, sadness, or imagining.





     The most common form of an ellipsis is a row of three periods or full stops (. . .)




or a precomposed triple-dot glyph (…). The triple-dot punctuation mark is also called a suspension point, points of ellipsis, periods of ellipsis, or colloquially, framed as "dot-dot-dot".



     In Anne Toner's book on the ellipsis, Ellipsis in English Literature: Signs of Omission  she suggests that the first use of the punctuation in the English language dates to a 1588 translation of Terence's Andria, by Maurice Kyffin. In that case, however, the ellipsis consists not of dots but of short dashes.




    
     There are numerous widely acknowledged types of ellipsis. Nine of them are: 1) gapping, 2) stripping, 3) VP-ellipsis, 4) pseudogapping, 5) answer fragments, 6) sluicing, 7) N-ellipsis, 8) comparative deletion, and 9) null complement anaphora. However, rather than getting into further discussion of these nine types of ellipses. . .



let's move on to the solar eclipse of August 21, 2017. 



     The eclipse has its own website. Maizie and I are already planning a camping trip with friends to Wyoming to view the eclipse. How about you? Will your path cross with the solar eclipse. . .?




Only 219 days to go!
Steph



Wow! { { { Photograph by Walker Berg, Oregon: CROWS ON SNOW} } }


Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Not "Eureka!" but "That's Funny. . ."

Not "Eureka!" but "That's Funny. . ."

 

     "The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I found it!) but "That's funny. . ."






        Isaac Asimov's words resonate for me partly because of the humor but also because of the ellipsis at the end of his quote. It is in that space of wondering, of trailing off, of inviting discourse that is so appealing. Growing up I learned to search for the "Aha!" moment. . . when, really, leaving the space to find new discoveries in the . . . is more inviting and collaborative.

         Asimov also wrote that: "It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety." I took those words to heart in making this segue to Clarke Knight, Smith College Class of 2014 and newest Rhodes Scholar:





         Ms. Knight (Clarke Knight of the Soul :-) ), a chemistry major, crew member, and book author is pictured above in the infamous Lyman Conservatory of banana plant glass pushing fame. Ms. Knight is from Henderson, Nevada, south of the Golden E Triangle of Ely-Elko-Eureka(!), Nevada:





          It is an area of the Basin and Range where I did follow-up field-checking after photogeologic-geomorphic mapping and space imagery analysis. Tromping around in the horsts and grabens of the extensional (or pull-apart) geologic features of central and northern Nevada was a true treat. Amazing fossils and fascinating geology surrounded us. Clarence Dutton wrote of the Great Basin in 1886:
 
Whoever has examined, even cursorily, the map of Western America must have noticed the following arrangement of the mountain masses: The great belt of cordilleras coming up through Mexico and crossing into United States territory is depicted as being composed of many short, abrupt ranges or ridges, looking upon the map like an army of caterpillars crawling northward.





     Another Asimov quote: "I write for the same reason I breathe--because if I didn't, I would die." I am not sure of Ms. Knight's thoughts on writing but I share Dr. Asimov's thoughts. His personal papers take up 464 boxes or 71 meters of shelf space. He wrote over 500 books and over 90,000 letters and postcards. His books are in 9/10 of the categories of the Dewey Decimal System (just call Isaac Iceberg Writer. . . )

      Dr. Asimov's first quote above has made me quite conscious of using the exclamation point versus the ellipsis. . .I welcome your comments from New Jersey to California and Germany to Yemen (Partial Ellipsis of the Sun Blog Reader Data: That's Funny. . .")

Gratefully,

Word Woman (Scientific Steph)

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Welcome to Partial Ellipsis of the Sun...

               Welcome to Partial Ellipsis of the Sun! 

                                            
                                   

Hello fellow scientists, writers, countrymen and countrywomen, lend me your years…years of experience of enjoyment of both science and writing. Both sides of your brain are…well, developed. :-)

You are the geologist who offers to write the reports accompanying exploration proposals because the proposed solution to the puzzle without commentary is only half of the story. You know that yes, a picture is worth a thousand words, but if you place well a mere seven words and just a comma or ellipsis, it can tell a remarkable story. 

You are the writer fascinated by every new development and discovery. Plate tectonics, older bristlecone pines, clades, dinosaurs with feathers discovered in China send you into orbit—perhaps to a partial ellipsis of the sun…Yes, ellipsis, eclipse, it’s all part of the story…

 I welcome your ideas for topics and commentary. I welcome input on how to make a blog fun and lively. I even welcome different ideas for the name (I’m not married to it)…Maybe just a tad too obscure? 

Next up: Volkswagen Bus to Smiley Face to Rubik’s Cube to Cell Phones to iPods to Smart Phones: What is wrong/right with this progression of decade avatars from the 1960’s to the 2010’s?! 

 I hope to post on Tuesdays. We’ll see how it goes. Happy belated National Punctuation Day…and Happy October! What an amazing month in which to launch a blog! 

Thanks for checking in… 

Word Woman (aka Scientific Steph)