I hope you are all well & in good spirits, insofar as possible in these oft-surreal times.

When we assign a name to a species, a more-accurate name is to be preferred to a less-accurate, other things being equal.

"Homo Sapiens" has never been a very accurate description of our species: while we have some attraction to sapiens (wisdom), it isn't all that much across the entire species. (I seem to recall Bertrand Russell saying something like, "All my life I've been told that man is the rational animal, and all my life I've seen nothing but evidence to the contrary...")

There is something, however, to which we human beings are *enormously* attracted, & to which (as far as we can surmise), other hominids/hominins would not be attracted: LUMINOUS RECTANGLES.

When given the opportunity, a very high percentage of our species (myself included) will spend lots of time staring at luminous rectangles: televisions, computer monitors, smartphones, etc.

We can debate whether and to what extent this propensity is beneficial or unbeneficial, but its existence is supported by overwhelming evidence.

That being so, I propose that we rename our species "Homo Luminous Rectangulus." This name is much more accurate than "Homo Sapiens"; and since we have no reason whatsoever to believe that Neanderthals, Australopithecines, or other members of the genus "Homo" shared this propensity, it provides the differentia needed for a good taxonomic definition.

Best wishes always to all....

Yours, in luminous rectangularity....

David Brett Richardson
https://twitter.com/BerkeleyBrett
https://www.facebook.com/brett.richardson.737

Den 04.10.2022 kl. 01.42 skrev Berkeley Brett:

> There is something, however, to which we human beings are *enormously* attracted, & to which (as far as we can surmise), other hominids/hominins would not be attracted: LUMINOUS RECTANGLES.

Do dogs not watch tv? Wouldn't apes and monkeys, given the opportunity?
Has it ever been seriously investigated?

I find that my natural vision is pretty much shaped like a square with
soft corners. But when I saw your headline, I started thinking about the
rectangular rooms that we have in our buildings and the many pieces of
rectangel-shaped furniture that we surround us with.

--
Bertel

After serious thinking Berkeley Brett wrote :

> I hope you are all well & in good spirits, insofar as possible in these
> oft-surreal times.
[...]
> Best wishes always to all....
>
> Yours, in luminous rectangularity....
>
> David Brett Richardson
> https://twitter.com/BerkeleyBrett
> https://www.facebook.com/brett.richardson.737

Long time no see. I hope you are well, in good spirits, and Dali'ing
around in these oft-surreal times.

/dps

--
Who, me? And what lacuna?

All good points, Bertel!

I'm not convinced that dogs watch TV, though it may be. I don't know of any evidence that apes or monkeys would watch television, but I suppose it's possible. And certainly some of the programs on television seem to have been written and produced for a Neanderthal audience :) (Though I have to be careful here: according to some experts, Neanderthals had somewhat larger brains than Homo Luminous Rectangulus (also known as Homo Sapiens), though this claim is controversial (and brain size doesn't necessarily correlate with greater intelligence.) )

I guess I tend to think of my field of vision as oval more than rectangular, but "square with soft corners" is a pretty good description!

Curious that human beings tend to build rectangular structures rather than other shapes. Even Çatalhöyük (approximately 7500 BC to 6400 BC), that very ancient settlement, seems to have followed a rectangular layout: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk Beaver dams & termite mounds are not rectangular, nor are the elegant hexagons of beehives ( https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2013/05/13/183704091/what-is-it-about-bees-and-hexagons ). Why do members of Homo Luminous Rectangulus prefer rectangles?

Many interesting questions! Thank you for your feedback, Bertel!

David

On Monday, October 3, 2022 at 8:14:17 PM UTC-7, Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:
> Den 04.10.2022 kl. 01.42 skrev Berkeley Brett:
>
> > There is something, however, to which we human beings are *enormously* attracted, & to which (as far as we can surmise), other hominids/hominins would not be attracted: LUMINOUS RECTANGLES.
> Do dogs not watch tv? Wouldn't apes and monkeys, given the opportunity?
> Has it ever been seriously investigated?
>
> I find that my natural vision is pretty much shaped like a square with
> soft corners. But when I saw your headline, I started thinking about the
> rectangular rooms that we have in our buildings and the many pieces of
> rectangel-shaped furniture that we surround us with.
>
> --
> Bertel

Thank you for your good wishes, /dps! I hope you, too, are well and in good spirits!

Wasn't it Dali who said, "I don't take drugs, I am drugs" (or something like this)? Such a notion would certainly be consistent with many of his paintings!

Wishing you the best always....

Dave

On Monday, October 3, 2022 at 10:58:32 PM UTC-7, snide...@gmail.com wrote:
> After serious thinking Berkeley Brett wrote :
> > I hope you are all well & in good spirits, insofar as possible in these
> > oft-surreal times.
> [...]
> > Best wishes always to all....
> >
> > Yours, in luminous rectangularity....
> >
> > David Brett Richardson
> > https://twitter.com/BerkeleyBrett
> > https://www.facebook.com/brett.richardson.737
> Long time no see. I hope you are well, in good spirits, and Dali'ing
> around in these oft-surreal times.
>
> /dps
>
> --
> Who, me? And what lacuna?

Bertel Lund Hansen <gadekryds@lundhansen.dk> wrote:

> Den 04.10.2022 kl. 01.42 skrev Berkeley Brett:
>
> > There is something, however, to which we human beings are *enormously*
> > attracted, & to which (as far as we can surmise), other
> > hominids/hominins would not be attracted: LUMINOUS RECTANGLES.
> >
> Do dogs not watch tv? Wouldn't apes and monkeys, given the opportunity?
> Has it ever been seriously investigated?

Indeed, Orangutangs have been using dating apps.
Zoos who keep them have breeding programs,
and that usually involves moving them over long distances
to meet a potential partner.

This is a costly and stressful undertaking,
and it may be all for nought if they just don't like each other.

So instead of being sent on a completely blind date
some lucky Orangutangs have been given the opportunity
to express preferences for potential mates,
in the hope of them having a better chance of success,

Jan

On 10/3/2022 11:14 PM, Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:
> Berkeley Brett:

>> There is something, however, to which we human beings are
>> *enormously* attracted, & to which (as far as we can surmise),
>> other hominids/hominins would not be attracted: LUMINOUS
>> RECTANGLES.

> Do dogs not watch tv? Wouldn't apes and monkeys, given the
> opportunity? Has it ever been seriously investigated?

> I find that my natural vision is pretty much shaped like a square
> with soft corners. But when I saw your headline, I started thinking
> about the rectangular rooms that we have in our buildings and the
> many pieces of rectangel-shaped furniture that we surround us with.

I favour "Pan fabulans", the ape that lies a lot.

--
But "Carcinopithecus destruens" has its attractions in the modern age.

Den 04.10.2022 kl. 16.02 skrev CDB:

> I favour "Pan fabulans", the ape that lies a lot.

How would a standup comedian relate to that?

--
Bertel

On 10/4/2022 10:53 AM, Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:
> CDB:

>> I favour "Pan fabulans", the ape that lies a lot.

> How would a standup comedian relate to that?

They'd plotz.

On 2022-10-04 00:19, Berkeley Brett wrote:
> All good points, Bertel!
>
> I'm not convinced that dogs watch TV, though it may be. I don't know of any evidence that apes or monkeys would watch television, but I suppose it's possible. And certainly some of the programs on television seem to have been written and produced for a Neanderthal audience :) (Though I have to be careful here: according to some experts, Neanderthals had somewhat larger brains than Homo Luminous Rectangulus (also known as Homo Sapiens), though this claim is controversial (and brain size doesn't necessarily correlate with greater intelligence.) )

I have has two cats that definitely watched TV. Both of them would watch
hockey games, and would try to 'catch' the players on the screen. They
would also peer around the edge of the screen when players would
disappear at the edge.

> I guess I tend to think of my field of vision as oval more than rectangular, but "square with soft corners" is a pretty good description!
>
> Curious that human beings tend to build rectangular structures rather than other shapes. Even Çatalhöyük (approximately 7500 BC to 6400 BC), that very ancient settlement, seems to have followed a rectangular layout: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk Beaver dams & termite mounds are not rectangular, nor are the elegant hexagons of beehives ( https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2013/05/13/183704091/what-is-it-about-bees-and-hexagons ). Why do members of Homo Luminous Rectangulus prefer rectangles?
>
> Many interesting questions! Thank you for your feedback, Bertel!
>
> David
>
> On Monday, October 3, 2022 at 8:14:17 PM UTC-7, Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:
>> Den 04.10.2022 kl. 01.42 skrev Berkeley Brett:
>>
>>> There is something, however, to which we human beings are *enormously* attracted, & to which (as far as we can surmise), other hominids/hominins would not be attracted: LUMINOUS RECTANGLES.
>> Do dogs not watch tv? Wouldn't apes and monkeys, given the opportunity?
>> Has it ever been seriously investigated?
>>
>> I find that my natural vision is pretty much shaped like a square with
>> soft corners. But when I saw your headline, I started thinking about the
>> rectangular rooms that we have in our buildings and the many pieces of
>> rectangel-shaped furniture that we surround us with.
>>
>> --
>> Bertel

--
“Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having
to get the facts.”
—E. B. White

* CDB:

> On 10/4/2022 10:53 AM, Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:
>> CDB:
>
>>> I favour "Pan fabulans", the ape that lies a lot.
>
>> How would a standup comedian relate to that?
>
> They'd plotz.

I didn't remember what that means in English, but I was sure it's not
the same as German "plotzen", slang for "to smoke". Well, that's the
meaning I knew, but it seems it can also mean "fall to the ground (as of
tree fruit)" or "work hard", in some regions or subcultures. The first
one may be related to the English meaning.

--
Queer people shuttle between worlds each time they look up from
their smartphones at the people gathered around the family table;
as they climb the steps from the underground nightclub back into
the nation-state. In one world, time quickens; in the other it
dawdles. Spending your life criss-crossing from world to world can
make you quite dizzy. - Mark Gevisser

On Tue, 4 Oct 2022 19:33:12 -0400, Quinn C
<lispamateur@crommatograph.info> wrote:

>* CDB:
>
>> On 10/4/2022 10:53 AM, Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:
>>> CDB:
>>
>>>> I favour "Pan fabulans", the ape that lies a lot.
>>
>>> How would a standup comedian relate to that?
>>
>> They'd plotz.
>
>I didn't remember what that means in English,

They'd shit. Yiddish.

>but I was sure it's not
>the same as German "plotzen", slang for "to smoke". Well, that's the
>meaning I knew, but it seems it can also mean "fall to the ground (as of
>tree fruit)" or "work hard", in some regions or subcultures. The first
>one may be related to the English meaning.
--

Tony Cooper - Orlando Florida

I read and post to this group as a form of entertainment.

On Tuesday, October 4, 2022 at 5:54:55 PM UTC-6, Tony Cooper wrote:
> On Tue, 4 Oct 2022 19:33:12 -0400, Quinn C
> <lispa...@crommatograph.info> wrote:
>
> >* CDB:
> >
> >> On 10/4/2022 10:53 AM, Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:
> >>> CDB:
> >>
> >>>> I favour "Pan fabulans", the ape that lies a lot.
> >>
> >>> How would a standup comedian relate to that?
> >>
> >> They'd plotz.
> >
> >I didn't remember what that means in English,

> They'd shit. Yiddish.

Oy vey iz mir! It means they'd burst. Idiomatically, they'd be shocked,

--
Jerry Friedman

On Tuesday, October 4, 2022 at 7:54:55 PM UTC-4, Tony Cooper wrote:
> On Tue, 4 Oct 2022 19:33:12 -0400, Quinn C
> <lispa...@crommatograph.info> wrote:
> >* CDB:
> >> On 10/4/2022 10:53 AM, Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:
> >>> CDB:

> >>>> I favour "Pan fabulans", the ape that lies a lot.
> >>> How would a standup comedian relate to that?
> >> They'd plotz.
> >I didn't remember what that means in English,
> They'd shit. Yiddish.

No.

> >but I was sure it's not
> >the same as German "plotzen", slang for "to smoke". Well, that's the
> >meaning I knew, but it seems it can also mean "fall to the ground (as of
> >tree fruit)"

That's what it means (collapse in shock).

or "work hard", in some regions or subcultures. The first
> >one may be related to the English meaning.
> --
> Tony Cooper - Orlando Florida
> I read and post to this group as a form of entertainment.

And misinformation.

On 10/4/2022 7:54 PM, Tony Cooper wrote:
> Quinn C <lispamateur@crommatograph.info> wrote:
>> CDB:
>>> Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:
>>>> CDB:

>>>>> I favour "Pan fabulans", the ape that lies a lot.

>>>> How would a standup comedian relate to that?

>>> They'd plotz.

>> I didn't remember what that means in English,

I consider it a Yiddish word (only partly naturalised), as Tony says.
The meaning I intended was the appropriate one for a stand-up comedian,
"fall to the ground".

> They'd shit. Yiddish.

>> but I was sure it's not the same as German "plotzen", slang for
>> "to smoke". Well, that's the meaning I knew, but it seems it can
>> also mean "fall to the ground (as of tree fruit)" or "work hard",
>> in some regions or subcultures. The first one may be related to
>> the English meaning.

I do try. Comments?

On 10/4/2022 8:04 PM, Jerry Friedman wrote:
> Tony Cooper wrote:
>> Quinn C <lispa...@crommatograph.info> wrote:
>>> CDB:
>>>> Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:
>>>>> CDB:

>>>>>> I favour "Pan fabulans", the ape that lies a lot.

>>>>> How would a standup comedian relate to that?

>>>> They'd plotz.

>>> I didn't remember what that means in English,

>> They'd shit. Yiddish.

> Oy vey iz mir! It means they'd burst. Idiomatically, they'd be
> shocked,

The first use I remember encountering was in an SCTV skit. Andrea
Martin was an effusive hostess saying to her guest, "Try some of this
cake, Rabbi. It's so good you'll plotz!" I interpreted it off the cuff
as a relative of "platzen", and thought it must mean "fall down", but I
can see that it is twistier than that.

I suppose the element common to all those explications is surprise.