ChrisFieldblog.com

A long-term debate has raged on the question of whether we are ‘born’ a certain way, such as happy, lucky, blessed or successful, or ‘made’ that way by our circumstances. Are we who we are because of the ‘nature’ of our being, such as something built into our DNA, or because of the things we [...]

From whom would one normally expect an afflatus?
Afflatus comes from a root which means wind or breath. In centuries past much was made of the notion of breath – even back to the Greek word for spirit being pneuma – breath. Similarly the word ‘inspire’ comes from a root that means ‘to breath upon’.
And where [...]

What colour is a verdant vesture?
It’s the same colour as a verdant pasture and a verdant forest. Verdant ultimately derives from the Latin word viridis, which means “green”.
So a ‘verdant vesture’ is a garment of green colour.
Because vegetation is green the word verdant has taken on the meaning of vegetation. Verdant fields may mean they [...]

How good is your command of English words?
Here are a few questions about words which you have probably heard. Do you know what the words mean or where they come from? Answer all the questions before checking your answers. Note your answers. I will post the answers, one each day for a week – so [...]

God is the first one to describe genetic transfer. While geneticists unravel the mysteries of DNA, genes and related genetic machinations they are simply playing with stuff that God first documented about 6,000 years ago.
The original records of the creation, which were later compiled by Moses in about 1500BC clearly document that God created plants [...]

Someone who I discussed these recent posts with identified with what I have written and she had a cute way of describing the situation. She said, “I kissed the frog, and he’s STILL a frog!” This is the disappointment many young wives and husbands have about their spouse.

Someone else put it this way. When a [...]

You’ve heard of the 3 R’s - Reading, Writing and ‘Rithmetic. That’s the junior school learning that we all have to undergo. But once we’ve moved on from the first 3 R’s there’s an extra 3 R’s that enhance our learning. Many of the posts on this blog site have the extra 3 R’s in [...]

Allow me to take you through a simple explanation of Genetics. This is “Genetics for Dummies”. It’s not meant to get anyone a post-graduate degree, but rather to give ordinary people a sense for the territory which comes under the general heading “Genetics”.
One hundred years before I was born takes us back to the middle [...]

It may seem strange to talk of High Priests in today’s western culture, but we are actually inundated with would-be gurus and priests, demanding that we subscribe to their peculiar belief system. We are constantly being asked to give up our wits and our will to the soothsayers who assure us they know what is [...]

Having introduced you to my interest in words I now offer a rather over-the-top collection of verbal bric-a-brac. The only purpose is to put a few lesser known words into a sentence of two in the hope of getting something of a grip on the terms themselves.
For the sport of it, see how many words [...]