Polysemy

Words gather here, but what about those words? Although the title of this note says it all, I should explain. If you are as mystified as I was before I looked it up, you have no idea what polysemy is about. I will explain.

Polysemy means a word has many meanings. 

Are you still there?
OK, there's more.

Most words have multiple meanings. Therefore, to be clear, we should explain what we mean. On the other hand, too many explanations can hamper communication. If it's too much, we just stop paying attention.

But 'polysemy' itself has only one meaning, which I have already told you. It is a technical word used only in lexical semantic analysis. You don't care about that, so I should shut up about polysemy and let you go empty the garbage or have a snack.

Sorry, I have more to say. Read or not; your choice. I'm going to ramble on.

Some words have only one dictionary meaning, monosemy. 

'Lucrative' is one such word with only one meaning "profitable", according to Vocabulary.com. But creative writers are never satisfied with using a word only one way. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, 'lucrative' can also mean "greedy of gain" describing a person running a business rather than the business itself. 

For example, if I insisted you pay to read this blog, and you actually paid, then the blog could be  lucrative (profitable), and I could also be described as lucrative (greedy). This is a transferred epithet, broadening the meaning of 'lucrative'. By the way, neither I nor the blog is lucrative. I'm writing this to distract myself while dinner is in the oven. This note is free.

Polysemy is the rule. Monosemy is the exception. Words accumulate meaning in use. That is the reason there are so few monosemic words. As a result, monosemic words are literally as scarce as hen's teeth. 

Aha !  The word 'literally' in the previous sentence is an example of the point I'm making. 'Literally' implies "actually, factually accurate". But a hen actually has no teeth. Therefore 'literally as scarce as hen's teeth' does not actually apply to monosemic words, of which there are a few more than hen's teeth. In this case, the word 'literally' is used figuratively to stretch a metaphor that doesn't quite fit. 

This is so much fun !
But I should quit tying words in knots.
You are busy.
Let me summarize.

Words in use accumulate meaning.
Dictionaries are always out of date.
We should explain what we mean.
Otherwise we keep each other guessing.
We should keep it simple.
Otherwise people stop paying attention.

I'm done.
It is literally time for dinner.

Phronesis

Pardon my French, or Greek, or whatever. Phronesis is practical wisdom, good judgment, making decisions that get good results. I just baited the line with that strange word to reel you in. You can spit out the hook now. I won't be mentioning phronesis again.

Since you are here, you might as well stay for dinner. Let me mix some metaphors as an appetizer. The main course will be ethics. Dessert is a secret surprise.

This all came to mind while I was dreaming about being a teenage gangster, going along with the guys out under the summer sun, but uneasy about what we were up to. I don't recall what we were up to, so I have nothing to confess except the anxiety of not knowing whether we were doing the right thing. Older now, I'm still not sure we're doing the right thing. By the way, you and I are now in the same gang; don't deny it. OK, whatever. Anyway you can help out in the kitchen. I'm curious about the right thing, so I looked up the recipe for ethics in Wikipedia.

Ethics is a dish with three ingredients: virtue, deontology, consequences. 

Virtue is promoting altruism and suppressing selfishness. Self care isn't bad, but it isn't the whole story. Don't forget the others. No me without us.

Add a spoonful of deontology:
rules,
duties,
responsibilities.
The French call it maîtrise de soi.
Les anglais l'appellent self control.
Excusez-moi. Ici, nous sommes bilingues.

Next stir in some consequentialism: if...then. 
If we care for others and follow the rules,
then good things may happen.
Sinon, de mauvaises choses pourraient arriver.

Here's dessert, hiding under a shiny question.
Who should we care for?
En français: de qui devons-nous prendre soin ?
Or using proper Boomer grammar:
for whom should we care?

  self
  family
  tribe
  those who share our beliefs, customs, goals
  neighbours nearby
  friends far away
  allies
  adversaries
  homo sapiens everywhere
  useful living things
  all living things
  things not yet living but soon to come
  everything useful, living or not
  everything on Earth, useful or not
  planet Earth
  the sun
  the solar system
  the galaxy
  the universe

Things we like best (dessert) are at the top of this list and we like things less as we go down. At the bottom we just don't care. The universe is not on the menu. The galaxy is not something I think about much. The solar system is as appetizing as spinach.

But the sun is interesting (like crème brûlée). You need sunlight to make vitamin D. Years ago, the gang thought sunburn was healthy and peeling was next to godliness. We didn't get that right. Now the doctor says my skin should be a chapter in a medical textbook. She apologized for taking four biopsies. I said it was OK as long as she left me enough skin to collect the pension. 

Now I confess. I told a lie about not mentioning phronesis again. Here it is. Phronesis is part of the meal, even if we're too full of altruism, rules, consequences and dessert to take a bite. Bag it up and take it with you. It's great warmed over.

Let me explain the metaphor. However ethical our efforts, however much we like what we are doing, we don't know all about what things are or how they work. So when unintended consequences threaten, we learn from experience, adjust the rules, make a new plan, and keep trying to get it right. 

Let's stop repeating mistakes. You youngsters, limit your time in the sun and use a good sunscreen or you will end up like me. That's phronesis.

Où est mon chapeau? Je vais faire une promenade.

*************
A step further up the dessert list there's the Earth:
Earth as resource to be managed,
Earth as home in need of serious maintenance,
Earth as Mother of the whole gang.
What are the rules here on Earth
and what about the rest of the list?
I'm not sure we have it right.
Are there risks of using sunscreen?
Damage to coral reefs?
If we carry on with business as usual,
que va-t-il se passer ensuite ?

En anglais : what happens next ?
*************

Gemütlichkeit and Other Ways of Dying: Jessica Boehme, WildPhilosophy

Why Aren't All Deserts Covered With Solar Panels:
Just Have a Think, Jan 18, 2026

Grabopoly

The holiday game around here has been Guelphopoly, Monopoly using local landmarks. So far, I am a loser. However, since we have played this a few times, I am learning how to win. You grab the university properties, add some expensive housing, and charge exorbitant rent. Soon everybody else goes broke while the winner gets rich. 

Sound familiar? Four years at university? Student debt? Unemployment? Then back home living with the parents because the grabbers have control of everything else? In Guelphopoly, it all plays out like the story of your life (if you are Gen Z) with a dopamine rush every time it's your turn to roll the dice and you're sure you're gonna win. Guelphopoly exercises our default grabbing instinct while demonstrating that most of us are going to lose.

However, in real life there is another competing instinct. It includes empathy, respect, restraint, reciprocity, compassion, generosity, gratitude, honour, trust. Life is not a game. We do our best when we work together and and share the rewards even when times are tough.

There is tension between these two instincts:
(1) take care of yourself and grab all you can
(2) take care of each other and share the rewards

During an expansive epoch, when there is enough for everyone plus some extra left over, we are easily convinced that we ought to care for each other: minimum wage, labour unions, pensions, social security, employment insurance, universal medical care, progressive taxation, volunteering, foreign aid, easy immigration, defense and trade alliances, conservation, environmental regulations, pollution control, rewilding. All good. 

Now that we have surpassed limits to growth (you knew that we are in overshoot, didn't you?) and things have begun to collapse, now that we feel needy and threatened, now the emerging wisdom of the age is that altruism is a woke conspiracy. We see through the lovey dovey warm and fuzzy feelings to a crumbling reality, and grab all we can get.

Benjamin grabs Gaza.

Putin is takin Ukraine.

After grabbing immigrants to deport all over the DSA (Disunited States of America) Donald Art-of-the-grab Trump Makes America Grab Again in Venezuela. He's betting that grabbing the western hemisphere piece by piece will get him the Nobull Piece Prize. 

Xi grabs the advantage in electrification technology while Donald grabs tariffs to shut China out of the ev market in the DSA, so Elon can grab his price for a Tesla (If you're a celebrity, they let you grab anything you want.)

Elon dreams about grabbing Mars as a new home for the wealthy winners when Earth gets used up and the losers go extinct.

Being a loser (one of the majority), I prefer that we take care of each other without grabbing what's left of a wonderful world. 

It's not a game.

**************

Collapsing Now, Gone In 2030: Johnny Silverhands

Why Collapse is Inevitable, Part III: William Rees

Grid Scale Battery Cost Reductions: Just Have a Think, Jan 11, 2026