WORDS TO THE WISE(+) 14

"CURIOSITY MAY HAVE KILLED THE CAT..." EDITION

One of the most important convictions I hold is the idea of "continuous learning and growth."  I firmly believe that we continue to learn (and hopefully, therefore grow) every day of our lives.  It is a sad state of mind indeed if you feel you have nothing left to explore, seek, and find and even more so if you feel you know everything,  One of the great enterprises of human existence is our ability to think, learn, (ponder again) and modify ourselves accordingly. 

Curiosity is the main ingredient (or at least a significant one) for genius.  It is the precursor to creativity, discovery and finally invention and advancement.  ALL of the most creative and clever people I know have an incredible amount of curiosity about the world around them.  So, my self-imposed directive for the rest of 2012 is "cultivate curiosity."

CURIOSITY
noun
an eagerness to know about something or to get information; a desire to know or learn; interest leading to inquiry; inquisitiveness; is a quality related to inquisitive thinking such as exploration, investigation, and learning, evident by observation in human and many animal species, the term can also be used to denote the behavior itself being caused by the emotion of curiosity, as this emotion represents a thirst for knowledge; intense desire to know and understand

INQUISITIVE
adj
eager for knowledge; given to examination or investigation; given to inquiry, research, or asking questions; inclined to investigate

WORDS TO THE WISE - 13

"CARRYING ON WHERE I LEFT OFF SO VERY LONG AGO" EDITION

My own personal megalomania, or idee fixe, is WORDS.  I have always loved them, obsessed over them, collected them, and have been an annoyance to others regarding them.  I am a sumpsimus and most others, I fear, would consider me pedantic (about more than this unfortunately).  Words excite me.  I love just looking at them, reading them, finding new ones, using the ones I know, and yes correcting others usage of them.  I even prefer them in my art and love being surrounded by them.  However, I am sure I am not alone.  I can happily say that I know at least one other with a similar engrossment.  I have not, so far, been too keen on sharing or studying etymology as I am much more interested in actual usage than history or origins.  Perhaps this will change in time and as I evolve.

So back to sharing some interesting words that I find piquant.

LOGOPHILE
noun
greek for lover of words (logophilia, philologue, philologer)

PHILONOIST
noun
a lover of learning; a lover of intelligence or knowledge; someone who is seeking knowledge