Not geology

  

Caprock Canyons State Park is known not only for its geological formations but also as the home of the Texas State Bison Herd since 1997. Visitors are advised upon entering the park that the bison wander freely and are potentially dangerous wild animals, so people should keep at least 150 feet away from them. To get these pictures on May 15th I parked near a group of bison, staying in my car and shooting through the open driver’s window with a telephoto lens.

  

 

 

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Have you noticed that sometimes a culture has two proverbs, both well established, that express opposite meanings? Probably the best-known pair in English is “Out of sight, out of mind” and “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” And have you heard the old linguistics joke about the foreigner who interpreted “Out of sight, out of mind” in his own language with words that mean “Blind, insane”?

A few days after I wrote that paragraph I happened to read Bryan A. Garner’s language column at the end of the June issue of National Review. In it he mentioned the Roman saying “Communis error facit jus,” meaning “An oft-repeated error makes law.” He noted that the negative version, “Communis error non facit jus,” “An oft-repeated error does not make the law,” also circulated but was much less common. That’s hardly an encouraging statistic for those of us who promote facts over falsity.

 

 

© 2024 Steven Schwartzman