Most of you would know that we have a Constitution that—not really so long ago—denied the rights of some of our most vulnerable citizens. It gets away with being silent on fundamental rights by outlining the separation of powers—rights protection through process. There are 3 arms that balance each other out to make sure that the [...]
None of us are safe from the anchoring bias. The way we reason is coloured by our experiences, our parents' experiences, where we live, what we do. And little behavioural shortcuts are hardwired into our brains—these might help us make quicker decisions, but they don’t help us make better ones. One of them is the [...]
Definition: A road vehicle, typically with four wheels powered by an internal-combustion engine and able to carry a small number of people. Using Little Squeak logic, everything from a Lamborghini to Lego on wheels is a ‘car’. And they are all awesome. (Vroom, vroom!) The word ‘car’ is thought to be based on the Gaulish word [...]
Definition: A heavy object attached to a cable or chain and used to moor a ship to the sea bottom. According to some, this is the only Latin nautical term to make it into Germanic languages (including English!) Unless you are a pirate or a boat, you might be more likely to use this word [...]
Definition: Pertaining to dinner. All the official definitions of this word talk about Romans wearing cenatory garments. If you wanted to tell someone else about what Romans wore when they ate dinner, it's pronounced 'se-na-tur-e' In fact, the etymology of the word is ... Oh, wait, did someone say 'dinner'?
Definition: Shaped like a fan. Today, a tin of beetroot decided to leap out of my hands and make a flabelliform stain on my white dress*. I knew I hated the stuff. ** * This didn't actually happen because I don't own a white dress. But if I did, I'm sure I would spill beetroot on [...]
Definition: In a literary work—an abrupt descent from the sublime or high-minded to the ridiculous. Not to be confused with 'pathos'. Pathos is a rhetorical technique that appeals to an audience's emotions—such as sympathy or sorrow. Bathos is most often used as comic relief. Monty Python and the Holy Grail has some good examples, including:
If you live in Australia, you would have heard that Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan—twenty-something Australians convicted of trying to smuggle heroin into Indonesia 10 years ago—were executed this morning. By firing squad, after that long in prison. They were my age. After months of dread, every time I watched the news—the way I found [...]
Definition: Goosebumps; an erection of hairs on the skin due to cold, fear or excitement I experience horripilation every time I see a cockroach (alive or dead). Also, when I hear a really good song (for the first time or hundredth).
Definition: Government by the least qualified or most unprincipled citizens. Is Australia a kakistocracy? You tell me.