I have written in the past about the problematic aspect of definition creep, the insidious way in which the meaning of words can change over time while being used as if their original definition was still in effect.
This will be another brief foray that subject area while disguising a blatant commercial announcement of the publication of my newest book.
The book, “Thought and After Thought,” falls within the loosely interpreted genre of poetry, itself an example of definition creep, and below is an excerpt from the book
illustrating that such things as truth and reality depend on having the very words that describe them remain constant throughout the passage of time.
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TRUTH AS A MUTABLE SYSTEM
The earth was flat when it was flat,
Zeus ruled a pantheon while he existed.
Cartographers explained areas not explored,
With simple notation, “here there be tygers.”
Elusive cities of gold spurred mass migrations,
As did fountains flowing with immortality.
The ancient truths, no longer believed,
Are regarded as having never been true.
Yet in their time their was no other truth,
No alternate reality.
No matter where you are in history,
Revising history creates new truth, a new reality.
Consistency in the very fabric of reality depends on constancy in the definitions of the words used to describe it.
The book is available from my publisher: http://www.lulu.com
and will soon be listed on Amazon and at other fine booksellers.
rixlibris 