Optic Barrel

Dear Followers,

This post needs more cowbell.

C.S. Lewis and I never really got along well. The start of our academic Cold War began years ago, in Mrs. Dorsey's 4th grade classroom. Back then, everybody had just started reading "The Chronicles Of Narina," C.S. Lewis' most famous children's series. A mixture of teacher coercion and youthful curiosity pushed me to pick up a copy of "The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe." I loved the fantasy feel of the novel, but there was something I couldn't get past: his writing style. I cannot stand the way that C.S. Lewis goes about when using descriptions and explanations. When I was reading through "The Inner Ring," I felt like a set of finely sharpened nails was screeching down a blackboard for the whole ride. Perhaps this is more of a personal problem as Lina Lee would say.


Some of you will be appalled by what I have just said. "This kid has no right to defame a beloved and acclaimed novelist," you must be saying. "The Chronicles Of Narnia was a collection of some of my most cherished childhood chapter books," you must be saying. C.S. Lewis is no doubt a phenomenal writer in my opinion. As we know from the passage, he was a "professor of medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge University." The way he writes just isn't for me is all. Naturally, being the ethical student I am, decided to take a stab at a dead man's legacy by poking holes in his so called "speech." I was grasping for straws. Yesterday I became so convinced that I had found the answer, the one damning piece of evidence which would show the world what a fool this man was. But, my so called evidence of "contradictory claims" was merely fool's gold.


While me and C.S. Lewis may only get over this lump in our relationship when we meet up in hell, I will have to give Lewis the win this time. His analysis of the "inner rings" which dominate society is a valid one. Even I know that playing the devil's advocate her would be an uphill fight. This hill would probably make the Himalayas look like ant hills. While Lewis may be watering down social statements for college students and all those die-hard Narnia fans out there, his thesis strangely resembles that of Friedrich Nietzsche and William Rasch (sorry for the comparison you two).  Unfortunately, human beings are genetically coded to form groups. As Thayer would say, group formation is a form a evolutionary biology, a social practice that has developed because of the need to survive.


We are no longer fighting Wooly Mammoths with spears and sporting animal skin speedos however. Indeed, in the modern world as man has taken out external threats, the only threat that remains is man himself. Thus, group formation has given birth to an overweight and deformed child: social hierarchy. This is the distinction which I interpret Lewis is trying to make (why am I doing your work for you old chap?). You see, a group is a collection of individuals who share common interests, the evolutionary example being survival. This is what Lewis refers to as "friendship" or the "group of craftsmen." Exclusion is a "by-product" but not the means to an end. The social hierarchy on the other hand exists to exclude, to keep the included powerful and the excluded powerless.


As a fellow named Karl Marx would say back in the nineteenth century, capitalism is the highest form of social hierarchy formed along economic lines through the means of production. But capitalism is not the only form of social hierarchy in the modern world. Social hierarchy can be seen everywhere in the outward appearance-happy American nation (Oh, right we DID bail out England from economic ruin). From high school cliques to billion dollar investment groups, hierarchy is the foundation of American society. Heck, you would have to have lost the use of all of our senses to not perceive the complex structure of social hierarchy which makes up our society. Why do we continue to live on when we know such hierarchies exist?


Our existence has no meaning. We are merely the spontaneous developments of collections of molecules. Lewis is bringing out his inner Nietzsche when he discusses man's inherent need to belong. "People who believe themselves to be free...may be devoured by...another form." How Nietzschian indeed Lewis. What does belonging mean for man? He is freed from the burden of leading of course! When we can become one of the herd, we are absolved of responsibility and our natural will to the Socratic Order is fulfilled in whole. In English, membership in a group subjects us to a set of morals based on group action, absolving us of taking the blame for individual action.


This means to add value to our essentially valueless lives, we constantly seek new group formations which bring with them the most prestige. This search for value however leaves us with nothing as we ignore what value we have achieved. In the words of Lewis, "we hardly recognize the pleasures of fruition." Oh Lewis, you have performed so marvelously well, hiding in the shadow of Nietzsche only to show your real colors at the end of the road. Traveling so far with the mane of a lion, you come to the stage with nothing but the clothing of a lamb (yep, when you read Nietzsche you begin to say things like this to yourself). Merely warning students of the "bad men" who wait before them will never be enough.


Where Lewis and I diverge is at the point of the alternative to the system of the "inner ring." Lewis seems to imply that by individual rejection of the "inner ring" and participation in the happiness of "friendship" we can successfully break away. But even friendship is a ring my friend. The only real way to break away is through an acceptance of the unknowable aspects of existence. We must expose ourselves to uncertainty, risking danger with a morality of certainty and living eventfully through a rolling of the dice and by rejecting our participation in any group through a Socratic delusion of mastery. Our existence will only be determined by the way we face an inevitable doom. (Where's your block to Deleuze?) Your advice is not radical enough to leave even a dent in the system of social hierarchy.


Yes, you all know I am a hack. I could have sat down and gone through the motions with this essay, marking down Lewis' use of rhetoric here and explaining his main point there. But what fun would that have been? As Lewis says, "All [that] is rather obvious." Heck, how many chances do you get to rag on somebody who is so well respected? Lewis is probably cringing as much as me as I compare him to men like Nietzsche, Thayer, Deleuze, and Rasch. Lewis and I will no doubt carry out this debate when I soon descend down into the devil's den  (yeah Bradley, you're probably right). When that day comes, be ready. Game on.


Bloom Trigger,
Noel

Three Reichs You're Out

Dear Followers,

Some of you will look down upon my speech choice. In modern society we have become so accustomed to denouncing the words "Nazi" and "Hitler" face on. I do not support what Hitler did. I do not support what the Nazis did. However, that does not mean I cannot admire Hitler's oratory skills.


Following WWI, Germany was in a state of devastation. Taking full blame for the war, having been subject to a military drawdown, and having been constantly watched on by nervous Americans and Europeans, emotions were running high in Germany.


The Communist and National Socialist parties were contending for political power as the Weimar Republic became more and more a sham government. Tapping a wealth of economic and social fears, Hitler maneuverer his way into power.


As one of this century's greatest orators, Hitler brings a powerful rhetorical presence to all of his speeches. His inflamed language and dreams of German glory captivated thousands. What you see here is taken from Triumph of the Will, a propaganda film made by Leni Riefenstahl.


This speech, given before the film in public, followed the victory of the National Socialist party in the Reichstag. Hitler narrates the progress of the party, and explains what they must do to develop Germany's "place in the sun." Enjoy.


Blitz Or GTFO,
Noel

Pizza Hut Supports The Rebellion

Dear Followers,


Source: Oxford English Dictionary
http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/index.html


NOTE: The original content was over 55 pages long in Microsoft Word 2007. What follows is an abridged version developed by yours truly. Oxford English Dictionary, as do I, probably needs to work on being concise.

PARADIGM – n.
ETYMOLOGY: < post-classical Latin paradigma example (late 3rd cent. as a technical term in rhetoric; recorded in classical Latin authors as a Greek word), (in grammar) pattern or table of inflected forms (13th cent. in a British source) < ancient Greekπαράδειγμα pattern, example, precedent < παρα-PARA- prefix1 + δεῖγμα sample, pattern ( < the stem of δείκνυναι to show (seeDEICTIC adj. and n.) + -μα: see -OMA comb. form), after παραδεικνύναι to exhibit beside, show side by side. Compare Middle French, French paradigme example, model (1584), table of inflections (1752), Spanish paradigma (1611). Compare PARADIGMAn.


1. A model, an exemplar; (also) a typical instance of something, an example.


2. Grammar. In the traditional grammar of Latin, Greek, and other inflected languages: a table showing all the inflected forms of a particular verb, noun, or adjective, serving as a model for other words of the same conjugation or declension.


3. Rhetoric. A figure of speech in which a comparison is made by resemblance; =PARADIGMA n.


4. A conceptual or methodological model underlying the theories and practices of a science or discipline at a particular time; (hence) a generally accepted world view.


EXAMPLES:
1976 Language 52 286 In a nutshell, paradigms are ‘universally recognized scientific achievements that for a time provide model problems and solutions to a community of practitioners’.
1976 F. ZWEIG New Acquisitive Society II. x. 132 The television set is the paradigm of consumer culture, with its disarming passivity prone to desires divorced from action.
1988 A. M. SILVERSTEIN Hist. Immunol. p. xix, It certainly must be restricted in its application to the microenvironment of the normative science of a given time—that is, to a working hypothesis developed within the context of the accepted beliefs (paradigm) of the day.
1992 D. CRYSTAL Encycl. Dict. Lang. & Langs., In the context ‘–will leave’, the pronouns I, you, we, etc. can substitute for each other and thus comprise a paradigm.


ARCHETYPE – n.
ETYMOLOGY: < Latin archetypum, < Greek ἀρχέτυπον, < ἀρχε- = ἀρχι- first + τύπος impress, stamp, type.


1. The original pattern or model from which copies are made; a prototype.


2. spec.
a. in Minting. A coin of standard weight, by which others are adjusted. ? Obs.


b. in Comparative Anat. An assumed ideal pattern of the fundamental structure of each great division of organized beings, of which the various species are considered as modifications.


c. In the psychology of C. G. Jung: a pervasive idea, image, or symbol that forms part of the collective unconscious. For the use of the term in Literary Criticism seeARCHETYPAL adj. 2.


EXAMPLE:
1849 T. B. MACAULAY Hist. Eng. I. 17 The House of Commons, the archetype of all the representative assemblies which now meet.
1849 R. I. MURCHISON Siluria xx. 477 Approaching to the vertebrated archetype.1923 H. G. BAYNES tr. C. G. Jung Psychol. Types 507 These archetypes, whose innermost nature is inaccessible to experience, represent the precipitate of psychic functioning of the whole ancestral line.
1957 N. FRYE Anat. Crit. ii. 99, I mean by an archetype a symbol which connects one poem with another.


CRITERION – n.
ETYMOLOGY: < Greek κριτήριον a means for judging, test, standard, < κριτής judge. In 17th cent. often written in Greek letters.


1.
a. An organ, faculty or instrument of judging.


b. A test, principle, rule, canon, or standard, by which anything is judged or estimated.


c. A distinguishing mark or characteristic attaching to a thing, by which it can be judged or estimated. Obs.


EXAMPLE:
1768 W. BLACKSTONE Comm. Laws Eng. III. 330 Some mode of probation or trial, which the law of the country has ordained for a criterion of truth and falshood.
1788 A. HUGHES Henry & Isabella I. 17 Regular uniformity and the straight line were the criterions of taste and beauty.
1795 Fate of Sedley I. 168 Lord Stokerland [is] the criterion of gallantry and politeness.
1856 J. A. FROUDE Hist. Eng. (1858) I. i. 18 We have no criterion by which, in these matters, degrees of good and evil admit of being measured.


EXEMPLAR – n.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English exemplaire, < Old French exemplaire: see EXAMPLAR n.The mod. form is partly a descendant of this, partly an adoption of Latin exemplar, -āre, n., originally neuter of exemplāris adj.: see EXEMPLAR adj.


1.
a. A person or thing which serves as a model for imitation; an example. Formerly also, †a pattern for work: cf. SAMPLER n.1


b. = EXAMPLE n. 6b. Obs. rare—1.


2. The model, pattern, or original after which something is made; an archetype whether real or ideal.


3. An instance, example; a parallel instance, a parallel.


4. A typical instance; a type, specimen (of a class); a typical embodiment or personification (of a quality, system, etc.).


5. A ‘copy’ of a book, etc.


EXAMPLES:
1665 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 1 102 His second Tome, whereof he lately presented some Exemplars to his Friends.
1793 T. MAURICE Indian Antiq. (1806) I. 105 It is impossible for the artist to deviate from the exemplar before him.
1875 B. JOWETT tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) V. 25 The Republic is the pattern of all other states and the exemplar of human life.
1882 F. W. FARRAR Early Christianity I. 269 A spiritual world, which was the archetype and exemplar of the visible.


EPITOME – n.
ETYMOLOGY: < Latin epitomē, < Greek ἐπιτομή, < ἐπιτέμνειν to make an incision into, abridge, < ἐπί upon + τέμνειν to cut.


1.
a. A brief statement of the chief points in a literary work; an abridgement, abstract.


b. A summary or condensed account of anything; a compendium of a subject.


2.
a. transf. Something that forms a condensed record or representation ‘in miniature’.


3. in epitome:
a. in the form of a summary.


b. in a diminutive form.


EXAMPLES:
1773 P. BRYDONE Tour Sicily (1809) xxxvii. 355 No less an epitome of the whole earth in its soil and climate, than in the variety of its productions.
1822 SHELLEY Def. Poetry (Camelot ed.) 9 Epitomes have been called the moths of just history; they eat out the poetry of it.
1849 H. D. THOREAU Week Concord & Merrimack Rivers 26 The characteristics and pursuits of various ages and races of men are always existing in epitome in every neighborhood.
1883 J. A. FROUDE Short Stud. IV. I. iii. 36 The articles in the text are an epitome of those which the Church found most objectionable.


IDEAL – n.
ETYMOLOGY: < post-classical Latin idealis having the nature of an idea, relating to an idea (5th cent.), conforming to an idea or form (13th cent. in British sources), existing as an idea in the mind (1488 in a British source) < classical Latin ideaIDEA n.+ -ālis-AL suffix1. Compare Middle French, French idéal existing only in the imagination (1551; in this sense now largely superseded by idéel: see note), conceived or regarded as perfect or supremely excellent in its kind (1758), Spanishideal (early 15th cent. as adjective, earliest in idealmenteIDEALLY adv.), Italian ideale(a1321). The Latin adjective was also borrowed into other Germanic languages, partly via French; compare e.g. Dutch ideaal (1777 as †ideal), German ideal (17th cent., originally as first element in compounds, e.g. Idealform; in the sense ‘existing only in the imagination’ now superseded by ideell: see note), Swedish ideal (late 18th cent.). In use as noun largely after German Ideal (c1760 in aesthetic context, 1781 or earlier (in Kant) in philosophical context); compare French idéal (1746; probably after German, although the latter is apparently first attested slightly later), Spanishideal (first half of the 16th cent.), Italian ideale (1670), uses as noun of the respective adjectives.


A. adj.


1. Existing as an idea or archetype; relating to or consisting of ideas in the Platonic or theological sense: see IDEA n. 1a.


2. Conceived or regarded as perfect or supremely excellent in its kind; answering to one's highest conception. Cf. IDEA n. 2, 3.


3.
a. Of, relating to, or of the nature of an idea, mental image, or conception. Now rare.Not always clearly distinguishable from sense A. 1.


b. Representing or embodying an idea or conception. Now rare.


4. Existing only in idea; confined to thought or imagination; imaginary: opposed to real or actual. Also: not real or practical; based on an idea or fancy; fancied, visionary.


5. Philos. Regarding or treating ideas as the only real entities; of the nature of or relating to idealism; idealistic.


6.
a. Math. Designating a complex number of a set defined in such a way that factorization of a number in terms of members of the set is unique. Now chiefly hist.Factorization of a whole number in terms of prime numbers is unique (e.g. 10 can only be expressed as 5 x 2); but in terms of complex factors such factorization is not unique (e.g. 10 can also be factorized as (3 + i)(3 − i)). Restricting the complex numbers to the set of ideal numbers restores uniqueness of factorization.


b. Geom. Having no proper existence in real Euclidean geometry as the thing so designated, but introduced into projective or complex geometry in order to do away with what would otherwise be exceptions to generalizations. Chiefly in ideal point, line, plane: see Special uses.


B. n.


1. A person or thing regarded as realizing the highest conception, a perfect example or representative.


2. A conception of something, or a thing conceived, in its highest perfection, or as an object to be realized or aimed at; a standard of perfection or excellence.


3. That which exists only as a mental conception, especially an idealized one; an imaginary, usually idealized, thing.


4. Math. A subset of a ring that contains all products of the form rx and xr, where r and x are elements of the ring and the subring, respectively; also called a two-sided ideal. left ideal n. a subring that contains all products of the formrx. right ideal n. a subring that contains all products of the form xr.


EXAMPLES:
1955 ‘P. DENNIS’ Auntie Mame vii. 175 You thought it would give you a common bond—the ideal excuse for you to come whooping down here and hell around town.
1963 E. WILSON Diary 25 July in L. Dabney Sixties (1993) 229 He looks like the perfect ideal of the fighting Slavic revolutionist, tall, heavy, broad-shouldered, square-chinned, meeting one's gaze with defiance.
2002 R. J. RICHARDS Romantic Conception Life ii. 111 The poet's sensitivity to the disparity between the real and the ideal, between finite representations and the infinite to which they refer, between feelings entirely subjective and those grounded on the object of concern.


MIRROR - n.
ETYMOLOGY: < Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French mireor, mireur,mirewer, miror, mirour, mirreur, mirur, mireor, mireoir reflective surface (1119), model, ideal type (c1165; French miroir), in French also small mirror worn as an ornament (17th cent.) < mirer (see MIRE v.2) + -oir (see -OR suffix 3). The Anglo-Norman and Old French word was formerly taken to be < (unattested) post-classical Latin *miratorium < post-classical Latin mirari, mirare to look at (seeMIRE v.2); compare Old French miredoir (11th cent., Rashi), Old Occitan mirador(c1150), Italian †miradore, †miratore (13th cent.). Some uses may be influenced by classical Latin speculum reflective surface, copy, imitation, image. In sense 3a after post-classical Latin speculum in work titles, e.g. speculum puerorum (mentioned in a manuscript of c1042). Some of these are reflected in English work titles incorporating the word mirror, as the myrrour of the worlde (see quot. 1481), translated from a French translation (image du monde, mid 13th cent.) of the speculum naturale of Vincent de Beauvais (a1264), and the mirour of mans saluacionne (a1500), rendering speculum humanae salvationis. Compare use of Old French mireour in this sense (1266). With sense 6 compare Middle French miroir ardent (1432), post-classical Latinspeculum comburens (1267, 1620 in British sources), and BURNING-GLASS n. In forms in -oir showing secondary influence of the French etymon.


I. A model or example.
1.
a. A person or thing embodying a feature or characteristic deserving imitation; a pattern; an exemplar. Now used with of.


b. A model of excellence; a paragon. Obs.


2. A person or thing embodying something to be avoided; an example, a warning. Obs.


3.
a. A thing regarded as giving a true description of something else.Formerly common in titles of books, periodicals, etc., and still occurring in titles of newspapers, as Daily Mirror, etc. Cf. LOOKING-GLASS n. 1b.


II. A reflective surface, and related senses.
4.
a. An object having a smooth, flat (or sometimes slightly curved) surface and intended to reflect a clear image, made of polished metal in ancient and medieval times, but later usually of glass with a reflective coating on one side; a looking-glass. Also (occas.) as a mass noun: =MIRROR GLASS n.The reflective coating was formerly an amalgam of tin, now usually aluminium or silver.


b. Chiefly poet. Applied to water.


c. fig. and in fig. context.


d. all done with mirrors and variants: performed or achieved by trickery, illusion, or some other explicable means, and not by magic or miracle.


5. spec.
a. A glass or crystal used in magic. Cf. magic mirror atMAGIC adj. 1b.


b. A small looking-glass formerly worn in hats by men and at the waist by women. Obs.


6. A polished or coated surface which is curved so as to reflect light in various specific ways; †a lens or burning glass (obs.). Cf. SPECULUM n. 2.The effect may be to concentrate or focus the light (e.g. in a reflecting telescope), or to disperse it so as to form an image or to correct distortion.


7. Any of various objects resembling a mirror in shape, lustre, or reflective quality.
a. Archit. A small round or oval ornament with a border. Now rare.


b. Cloth having a high sheen (see also Compounds 1b).Obs. rare.


c. Ornithol. A conspicuous patch of white on the wing tips of gulls and certain other birds. Cf. SPECULUM n. 4.


d. Entomol. A very thin, roughly circular region of one of the two tegmina (forewings) in the males of certain bush crickets, which acts as a radiating surface for high frequency sounds during stridulation; a similar region present on both tegmina of male field crickets, also thought to be important in sound production.


8. Chiefly U.S. = milk mirror n. at MILK n.1 and adj.Compounds 3a. Also called escutcheon. Now hist.The extent and detailed pattern of the mirror were formerly believed to be an indicator of milk-producing capacity.


9. Angling. Short for mirror carp n. at Compounds 2.


EXAMPLES:
1785 E. BURKE Speech Nabob Arcot's Debts in Wks. (1842) I. 343 Our mirror of ministers of finance did not think this enough for the services of such a friend as Benfield.
1921 L. STRACHEY Queen Victoria iv. 111 In the eyes of Victoria he was the mirror of manly beauty.
1959 H. MACLENNAN Watch that ends Night 372 In the cathedral hush of a Quebec Indian summer with the lake drawing into its mirror the fire of the maples.
1989 R. BANKS Affliction iii. 39 He noticed in the mirror next to him the glare from the high beams of a car coming up behind them fast.


MODEL - n.
ETYMOLOGY: < Middle French, French †modelle (1542 in sense A. 4b, 1563 in senseA. 4a, 1576 in sense A. 10, 1656 in sense A. 9a, 1676 in sense A. 11a; French modèle) < Italian modello (a1537 denoting a figure made of wood or other materials used to make a mould in metal casting, a1544 in sense ‘perfect example worthy of imitation’) < post-classical Latin modellus (recorded 1327 in a British source in sense ‘mould, vessel’) < classical Latin modulus (see MODULUS n.) with alteration of the suffix (compare -EL suffix2). Compare Spanish modelo (16th cent.), Portuguese modelo(16th cent.). Compare Dutch model (first half of the 17th cent.; < French), GermanModell (17th cent.; < Italian), Swedish modell (mid 17th cent.), and Danish model(probably both via German). Compare MOULD n.3 and MODULE n.
With branch A. IV. compare parallel senses at MODULE n. (first attested earlier in sense A. 15a); with sense A. 17 compare earlier MUTULE n., MODILLION n.


A. n.
I. A representation of structure, and related senses.
1.
a. A set of designs (plans, elevations, sections, etc.) for a projected building or other structure; a similar set of drawings made to scale and representing the proportions and arrangement of an existing building. Also (occas.): a plan of a town, garden, etc.


b. A description of structure. Obs. rare.


c. A summary, epitome, abstract; the argument of a literary work. Obs.


2.
a. Something which accurately resembles or represents something else, esp. on a small scale; a person or thing that is the likeness of another. Freq. in the (very) model of.


b. An archetypal image or pattern. rare.


3. A small portrait, as on a medal; (hence also) a medal.Obs.


4.
a. A three-dimensional representation, esp. on a small scale, of a person or thing or of a projected or existing structure; esp. one showing the component parts in accurate proportion and relative disposition.


b. Art. An object or figure made in clay, wax, etc., as an aid to the execution of the final form of a sculpture or other work of art; a maquette. Formerly (also): †a sketch or study made for a painting (obs.).In quot. 1613 fig.


5. = MOULD n.3 9a. Obs. rare.See note at sense A. 15a; quot. a1616 at sense A. 1a placed under this sense in N.E.D. (1907 ) is now reassigned to sense A. 2a.
1636 in R. W. Cochran-Patrick Rec. Coinage Scotl. (1876) II. 106 [The melted bullion] is poured out in a grit irne modell quhilk is drawen thairto with chanells.


6. Plastering. A tool for moulding a cornice, having a pattern in profile which is impressed on the plaster by working the tool backwards and forwards. Obs.


7. Dentistry. A positive copy of the teeth or oral cavity which is cast in metal, plaster, etc., from an impression, and which may be used to construct dental appliances..


8.
a. A simplified or idealized description or conception of a particular system, situation, or process, often in mathematical terms, that is put forward as a basis for theoretical or empirical understanding, or for calculations, predictions, etc.; a conceptual or mental representation of something. Freq. with modifying word. Cf. sense A. 1b. mathematical model n. a description or representation of something conceived or presented in mathematical terms.


b. Mathematical Logic. A set of entities that satisfies all the formulae of a given formal or axiomatic system.


II. An object of imitation.
9.
a. A person, or a work, that is proposed or adopted for imitation; an exemplar. Later also: a person or place on which a fictional character, location, etc., is based.


b. Biol. An animal or plant to which another bears a mimetic resemblance.


c. Social Psychol. A person who models or exemplifies a desired behaviour. Cf. MODEL v. 11.


10. A person or thing eminently worthy of imitation; a perfect exemplar of some excellence. Also: a representative specimen of some quality.


11.
a. A person or (less commonly) a thing serving as an object to be copied or depicted by an artist, sculptor, etc.; a person employed to pose for this purpose.


b. A person employed to wear clothes for display, or to appear in displays of other goods.Originally used of women, and still usually understood in this sense unless preceded by a modifying word, as child, male, etc.


c. euphem. A prostitute.


12. colloq.
a. Chiefly Austral. Short for model prison n. at Special uses. Also: time served in a model prison; esp. in to do model.the Model (now hist.): Pentonville Prison in London, opened in 1842, on the design of which many later prisons were based; (also) Port Arthur Prison, Tasmania, closely resembling Pentonville.


b. In pl. Short for model dwellings n. at Special uses. Now rare.


c. Sc. Short for model lodging house n. at Special uses.


III. A type or design.
13. Style of structure or form; design, structural type; build, make.
a. Of systems, institutions, and other immaterial things.


b. Of material structures.


c. Also Model. The plan for the reorganization of the English parliamentary army, passed by the House of Commons in 1644–5; (also) the parliamentary army, following its reorganization according to this plan. See also NEW MODEL n. and adj. Obs.In early use also: any army compared or likened to the reorganized parliamentary army in some way (in quot. 1653used of a Scottish army raised in rebellion against the Commonwealth).


d. An article of clothing of a particular style, which is produced for show by a designer, or fashionable in a particular season, etc.


e. A particular make or design of motor vehicle or (in later use) any manufactured article; an item made to such a design, or produced in a specified year; each of a series of designs for the same type of object (freq. attrib., usually with following numeral or sequential letter). Also in extended use.See also Model T n. at Compounds 2.


14. Music. The particular curvature of surface of a violin, viol, etc.


15.
a. Scale of construction; allotted measure; the measure of a person's ability or capacity. Cf. MODULE n. 1. Obs.The meaning in quot. 1597 at sense A. 2a is unclear. Commentators have suggested that it applies either to the flesh or to the soil of the grave; in N.E.D. (1907 ) the quot. was placed at sense A. 5, along with senses relating to shaping, moulding, and small-scale representation. However, the corresponding sense of module is of comparable date, and the quot. has been reassigned on this basis; see also:


b. Compass, extent of space. Obs. rare.


16. Archit. = MODULE n. 3b. Obs.


17. Archit. = MODILLION n. Obs.
1663 B. GERBIER Counsel to Builders 39 The Models in the Cornishes may be just over the middle of the Column.


B. adj. (chiefly attrib.).


1. That is a model or example; serving or intended to serve as a pattern for imitation; exemplary, ideal. Freq. in model city, model farm, model town (see also sense A. 3).


2. That is a model or representation of something else, esp. on a small scale; esp. designating a miniature reproduction of a building, machine, vehicle, etc., constructed for pleasure, as model aeroplane, model railway, etc.


EXAMPLES:
1714 SWIFT Some Thoughts upon Present State Affairs (1741) 7 When a Building is to be erected, the Model may be the Contrivance only of one Head.
1957 L. DURRELL Justine I. 34 He had a model of the perfect woman built in rubber—life-size.
1972 F. FITZGERALD Fire in Lake i. 15 As the family provided the model for village and state, there was only one type of organization.
1993 Q Jan. 119/3 Cruise is the very model of a modern movie star.


PROTOTYPE - n.
ETYMOLOGY: < Middle French, French prototype first or primary type, exemplar (1552) or its etymon post-classical Latin prototypum, prototypon PROTOTYPON n.Compare Spanish prototipo (1509 or earlier), Italian prototipo (1598). Compare later PROTOTYPON n.(Show Less)


A. n.
1.
a. The first or primary type of a person or thing; an original on which something is modelled or from which it is derived; an exemplar, an archetype.


b. In model-making: a full-size original of which a model is a representation on a reduced scale.


2. Electronics. A basic filter network (usually having series and shunt reactances in inverse proportion) with specified cut-off frequencies, from which other networks may be derived to obtain sharper cut-offs, constancy of characteristic impedance with frequency, etc.


3. A first full-size working version of a new vehicle, machine, etc., of which further improvements may be made; a preliminary version made in small numbers for evaluation, or from which improved or modified versions may be developed.


B. adj. That is, constitutes, or serves as a prototype; prototypical.


EXAMPLES:
1935 C. G. BURGE Compl. Bk. Aviation 261/1 The first experimental machine of a new type is usually made by a special department in the factory. This first or ‘prototype’ machine is, to a large extent, hand-made.
1989 Smithsonian Dec. 73/2 A designer must drape a prototype of a new doll or squirt gun with a sheet before carrying it into a hallway.
2000 Santa Fe New Mexican (Nexis) 27 Dec. E4 Modeling scales are determined by the proportion of the model to the full-sized prototype.


SAMPLE - n.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English sample, aphetic < essample: see EXAMPLE n.


1. A fact, incident, story, or suppositious case, which serves to illustrate, confirm, or render credible some proposition or statement. (Cf. EXAMPLE n. 1) Obs.


2.
a. A relatively small quantity of material, or an individual object, from which the quality of the mass, group, species, etc. which it represents may be inferred; a specimen. Now chiefly Comm., a small quantity of some commodity, presented or shown to customers as a specimen of the goods offered for sale. (An individual article offered as a specimen of goods sold by number and not by weight or measure is now more commonly called a pattern.)The commercial use is now apprehended as the primary one, the wider application being felt as transferred.


b. of immaterial things.


c. A specimen taken for scientific testing or analysis.


d. Statistics. A portion drawn from a population, the study of which is intended to lead to statistical estimates of the attributes of the whole population.


3. A person's action or conduct viewed as an object of imitation; also, a person whose conduct deserves imitation; = EXAMPLE n. 6. Obs.


4. Precedent; = EXAMPLE n. 5. Obs.


5. A warning; = EXAMPLE n. 3. Phrases, in sample, by way of warning. to take sample. Obs.


EXAMPLES:
1838 W. BELL Dict. Law Scotl. (at cited word), When goods are sold by sample, there is an implied warrandice that the bulk is of equal quality with the sample.
1896 Daily News 9 Nov. 3/5 The Bench were of opinion that samples were goods.
1973 J. G. DICK Analyt. Chem. ii. 32 Samples of impure acidic substances were analyzed by a neutralization method.
1979 Church Times 9 Mar. 2/2 A nationally representative sample of 956 people was interviewed for the survey.


TYPE - n.
ETYMOLOGY: < French type (16th cent. in Littré) or Latin typus, < Greek τύποςimpression, figure, type, < the root of τύπτειν to beat, strike.(Show Less)


1.
a. That by which something is symbolized or figured; anything having a symbolical signification; a symbol, emblem; spec. in Theol. a person, object, or event of Old Testament history, prefiguring some person or thing revealed in the new dispensation; correlative to antitype.in (the) type, in symbolic representation.


b. An imperfect symbol or anticipation of something.nonce-use.


2.
a. A figure or picture of something; a representation; an image or imitation. Obs. rare.


b. Numismatics The figure on either side of a coin or medal.




3. A distinguishing mark or sign; a stamp. rare.


4. Pathol. The characteristic form of a fever; esp. the character of an intermittent fever as determined by its period. Cf. type-fever n. at Compounds 2. [So Latintypus.] Obs. or merged in sense 5.


5.
a. The general form, structure, or character distinguishing a particular kind, group, or class of beings or objects; hence transf. a pattern or model after which something is made.


6.
a. A kind, class, or order as distinguished by a particular character.
1898 Jrnl. Sch. Geogr. (U.S.) Oct. 306 The dominant weather type was clear, with light southerly winds and temperatures between 50° and 55°. This type was interrupted by two spells of cloudy weather, with northerly winds.


b. Preceding a n. with ellipsis of of, = type of. Cf. -TYPEsuffix 2. U.S. colloq.


7. transf.
a. A person or thing that exhibits the characteristic qualities of a class; a representative specimen; a typical example or instance.


b. spec. A person or thing that exemplifies the ideal qualities or characteristics of a kind or order; a perfect example or specimen of something; a model, pattern, exemplar.


c. A person of a certain (specified or implicit) character;one's type, the sort of person to whom one is attracted (usu. in neg. or interrog. contexts). Also simply, a person; as a gallicism, also with pronunc. /tip/, derogatory.colloq.


8. Technical uses from senses 5– 7.


a. Natural Hist., etc. A certain general plan of structure characterizing a group of animals, plants, etc.; hencetransf. a group or division of animals, etc., having a common form or structure.


b. Natural Hist. A species or genus which most perfectly exhibits the essential characters of its family or group, and from which the family or group is (usually) named; an individual embodying all the distinctive characteristics of a species, etc., esp. the specimen on which the first published description of a species is based.


c. Chem. A simple compound taken as representing the structure of more complex compounds.


d. Math. (See quots.)


e. Semiotics, etc. A sign representing a category or set of instances, as opposed to the individual tokens by which the category is instantiated. Cf. TOKEN n. 1f.


9.
a. A small rectangular block, usually of metal or wood, having on its upper end a raised letter, figure, or other character, for use in printing. in types, in type (see 9b). Also fig.


b. sing. Types collectively; letter. in type, set up ready for printing.


c. transf. A printed character or characters, or an imitation of these.


EXAMPLES:
1862 J. H. BURTON Bk.-hunter (1863) 11 The types of a really hospitable country house were an anker of whisky always on the spigot, a caldron ever on the bubble with boiling water.
1875 H. E. MANNING Internal Mission of Holy Ghost i. 15 Ceremonial actions, and washings, and purifications, which were the types and shadows of things to come.
1904 W. M. RAMSAY Lett. to Seven Churches xix. 262 Homer is one of the most frequent types on coins of the city.


All Hail Britannia,
Noel

Not Every Argument Is The Same

Dear Followers,

Sometimes, peer pressure can produce some very unexpected results. During the summer of 9th grade, the only thing I was focusing on was playing videogames, going swimming, and waking up to get yelled at by Coach Prondzinski every Monday through Thursday. Who would have thought that one conversation would alter the course of my high school experience forever?

One day, I went to the weekly party at Katherine Law's luxurious yet comfortable home in Minnetonka. After a night of good food, good friends, and good fun, I found myself on the green couches in the basement in front of the 9-television wall display (only a few actually work). To my left was Cosette Haugen, and in front of me was Evan Chen. They were talking about how they were going to enter the Wayzata Debate Program this coming school year.

Debate? I had heard of the activity before briefly from my fun running experiences with Alex Aronovich and Oliver He. That was that silly class where kids yelled at each other over things like alternative energy right? Why were Evan and Cosette going to enter the class? Out of plain curiosity, I decided to join the conversation. When I got home the next day, disheveled from a night on the floor, I decided to ask my mom about debate.

Turns out my mom had been talking with Renu aunty (yes, every Indian mother is an aunty), Avi Kumar's mother, and she had found out that Avi had done the program as a freshman. By merely saying the word "debate," my mother became swept up in her ingrained practice of not allowing her child to fall behind the Indian standard line. Before I had even decided, a mixture of peer pressure and parental desire had put my name down on the list. The rest of summer felt like waiting to be shipped to a distant war zone.

The first day of sophomore year, when I stumbled into the debate classroom in the C-wing of second floor, I didn't know what to expect. Right away I noticed Yasir Udin. During the summer he was in the same Trojan Power session as I was, and we had ripped up the dodge ball circuit clad in wife beaters and black shorts. Dropping my new Palmer on the table, I integrated myself as quickly as possible with the older debaters. After all, most everybody in the class was a freshman.

Boy was I in for a ride. The year just went faster and faster, and I got more confused with each passing lesson. From textual and functional PICs to impact calculus to spreading and extending, debate was far more that I had bargained for. In the interest of maintaining my 4.0 GPA, I studying hard into the night to overcome my debate coach's ridiculous and vague tests. I would always tell myself every night, "just one year, then you're done." Well, that didn't happen.

I continued to debate after novice year. Not a single day goes by that I don't stop to think how honored I am to be a member of the debate community. For people outside our community, understanding why we love what we do is useless. I could try and explain to you why I love staying up late to read conspiracy theories and political dispatches, but you wouldn't be convinced. I simply love what we do because nobody else does what we do.

The community. No other activity allows high school students to meet and bond quite like debate does. Heck, I hadn't even heard of many of the schools in Minnesota before doing debate. You would expect an activity like debate to force teams to develop a heap of animosity towards others because of the highly competitive and aggressive nature of the activity. The exact opposite is true. Debaters respect one another simply because they are debaters. We are all equals, and we understand each other like nobody else can.

The time in between rounds is filled with gossip, mini debates, Starcraft and Counter Strike LANs, hugs, eating, and just general hanging out. I would have never though that with in the span of one year I would have friends from all over the state, from Eagan, Blake, Minneapolis South, Eden Prairie, Edina, Rosemount, Saint Paul Central, Hyland Park, and more.

People of all ages are involved in the debate community. I don't even want to guess how old my coach is, although we have postulated that she lived during the dawn of debate. In debate, high school students and college students interact like its no big deal. Three of my assistant coachs are in their late twenties, yet when I talk to them I feel like I am talking with another high school student. This isn't a statement about their maturity, but rather a statement of how comfortable the debate atmosphere is.

And then of course there are the arguments themselves. The moment when you understand or discover something that probably nobody else in your entire high school knows about is heavenly. Not only do we learn about many things in debate, but we learn about what I like to call, "critical education." It isn't enough to make an argument. You need to understand how arguments interact with one another, where flaws can be found and exploited, and which arguments are going to be the strongest to make.

Most of what I have said above is incoherent. I am not going to lie, to try and explain everything about debate would be impossible. I just felt that given the circumstances, a small insight into my debating experience was needed. If you had expected an explanation of debate, this is not the right place to be. I am sorry, but this round I am not going to disclose.

Debate Is Life, The Rest Is Just Prep,
Noel