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The Definition of Nigger, Niggle, Niggly

I love words. I love writing words. I love reading words. I love hearing words. I have a new WordPunk blog that deals with “words in the wilds.” The power of words is in their definition. Words have meanings only because they are shared in context and understood between people. Dictionaries help bridge the fuzzy confusion between definition and meaning. Imagine, then, my delight and horror in receiving this email from a university professor friend of mine:

Word came down from above that we are no longer allowed to use “niggle” or “niggly” or any variety thereof in writing or speaking with students because “they sound and look too much like that other word” (the N-word) and we don’t “want to upset the student body.” I thought they were joking at first until I also saw a warning against using “spook” in class, too.

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Writing No Longer Matters

The Boston Globe reported last week many top American universities are ignoring the writing portion of the SAT exam when deciding whether or not to admit high school students into their programs of study.

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Beware the Proclaimed Genius

If genius is born in collective ciphers then we need to be wary of those who proclaim their solitary and self-important Genius.

The Self-Indulgent Genius is a warning sign that kowtowing and deference are expected in any exchange of memes or communicative dyads — and to not show deference is to be scorned and mocked and wanted smaller.

When Genius is dealt to you — respect it and honor it and keep it quiet unless and until it is discovered by others — and always run from those who foretell their own place in history by trumpeting a quiet gift.

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Genius Born in Collective Ciphers

Genius is born in collective ciphers — and the brilliance in the cooperative remains hidden until there is an expressed peril to group stakes — then an emergency encryption of memes and forms of protective thought are ignited, risking decoded secrets and nothingness.

 

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Haunted by Words

Sometimes we are unaware of what we have written.

Our words always become ghosts to us and they haunt us in the quiet moments if we are not cogent of their power to harm when we create meaning by solidifying thoughts into form and placing words against each other for context.

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