Aism and other articles of faith

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1

The this! The that!
Thuh! Thuh!! Thuh!!!
What is the singlemost frequently used word in the English language?

Shit?

No, that’s just “the” most uttered expression within English Tourette’s.

ohmygod?

No, but only because that’s not really a word. So, whatever…

It’s, yes, you guessed it:

it’s…

it’s…

it’s…

The.

Enough with the thes, I correct!

It’s a’s time! Whether ay or ah. A is alpha. A ought to be first. It has a much clearer point, is inimitably singular, has a simple bipedal stance, and, well, who can resist that triangulant face!

Oh ya, and an, too. Can’t forget an (by which, I must be crystal clear, I am not referring to Ayn, nor that whole A=A parlor game).

But the (and I include thee therein) has had its day in a sun.

Indefinition is our reality. So let’s ease up on all this the stuff. It’s plugging our thoughts.

I know, I know, we were all raised up in a theian tradition, and it’s difficult to break with a past.

But come on, now, what have we been refering to all this time? The noun, or just an ever variant one amongst many?

I think we should take a hint from the Fonz, put both thumbs up and … well, you know! Eh?

2

“the” is a linguistic form, designated to “pick out” or refer to something… it is meaningless without a referent. ‘the’ and ‘a’ are nearly identical-- the only difference is that ‘the’ picks out an entity or referent that we have MORE direct contact with and/or awareness of personally or more intimately; ‘a’ picks out things which are more distant from us, which we have less direct or personal contact/experience with.

when you say “a X is Y” you are saying that a non-specific (not ‘specific’ in the sense that it is not singular, but in the sense that it is not specific to YOU) X-like entity is Y.

when you say “the X is Y” you are saying that a specific X-like entity is Y.

so “the” is far more descriptive and specific than ‘a’ in that it picks out specific and/or singular and/or more presently-real entity which we are more intimately knowledgeable about. ‘the’ presupposes definitive knowledge of/about the thing in reference; ‘a’ does not.

‘the’ is clearly far more powerful than ‘a’ in language, which is the reason i assume that it is more frequently used.

3

Hi 3G,

Sorry for delayed reply, but a virus was visiting my biosystem. For a time, for me, it was the virus, I must admit…

Yes, you’re precisely correct. That is why/how English has used the so promiscuously. It is perhaps in some metanarrativistic manner an explanation for English’s ascendency as a global tongue.

But I’d argue that it is time we held back our Theian manners and learned more of an Aist way. There may be many such ways…

Our proliferate ability to denominate specificity in our daily exchanges weighs too heavily against what reality speaks. We do not know the way. It is better that we know a way. Such that a way may be given to arise which might indeed be better though the way; but which is more likely to be displaced in this present contest of the ways.

Indeed, the is far more powerful in the immediate sense; but the strength of a is that it allows possibilities to arise.

I shall for my part endeavor, as an Aist, to diminish my use of the insofar as I am able. Not, of course, that I am suggesting that such is the way… :-$

4

ah, i understand what you are saying now, about the arising of possibilities…

it seems that these possibilities are derived from an inherent ambiguity of meaning, however, when we prefer ‘a’ to ‘the’… im not sure this is a good source of possibility…

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Yes, meaning is inherently ambiguous prior to its derivation. “A” is not “the” source of possibility, but simply a means by which its potential is released, as is the…

The The’er, of course, would prefer much greater clarity in advance, such that the The’er would become a The’er-ist of predicting “the” future. This is called flying on the ground.

An A’er, on another hand, acknowledges an obscurity as it is found, such that an A’er continues as an A’er-ist of recognizing what is approaching in all its multiplicity. Flying by “the” seat of one’s pants is a critical skill.

As “the Greeks” used to say, all pilots are able in calm weather…