Bad Words, a Better Word, and a Dirty Word

Here are some thoughts I have after observing Humanity for just over a half-century and the incredible duality we Humans have in both communicating and mis-communicating, often in the extreme.

BAD WORDS: WORDS WE SHOULD LOSE

“Smart”, “Stupid”, “Idiot”, “Moron” and “Dumb”

The problem I have with these words is that they’re incomplete in describing persons and situations. I would replace them with:

“Intelligent”
“Unintelligent”
“Knowledgeable”
“Ignorant”

I make this mistake myself quite often in spite of being educated. If nothing else it shows how difficult it is to change words once they become part of the vernacular.

A BAD WORD and A BETTER SUBSTITUTE

“Physics”

I have the perfect substitute: “Reality”.

Imagine getting a PhD in Reality. Much more descriptive. Or my current hobby, “Mathematical Physics”, would become “Realistic Mathematics”. Much more descriptive as well.

A DIRTY WORD

“Retirement”

Not sure if my attitude on this comes from my English or Slovak heritage, which are my two primaries. Not sure I have enough French or German genes for them to dominate. Possibly my third heritage, which is Dutch. The Dutch are very industrious. I wish I had more Dutch genes however, as a house and two kids in college plus two Recessions equals my current poverty.

In any event, on both sides of my family, none of my grandparents truly retired. They always had something going, some project they were working on. A new Hobby can become a new Profession if one works it enough, my parents’ and grandparents’ lives attest to that. Would that it would be so for everyone.