Sunday, March 23, 2003
Angela Bell warns against cliche. On the topic of repeating worn-out expressions, I came across a recent book review in The Observer that pointed out how Shakespeare knew something now confirmed by brain scans: 'Modern studies have shown the more a word is used in conversation, the less the brain responds to it. Our neurones get tired of hearing it. You can see this effect in the electrical activity of the brain's word centres. They stop sparking so much. 'Shakespeare knew that intuitively. Hence the rich variety of his vocabulary and his use of unexpected words or odd combinations of them.
Case in point: "weapons of mass destruction". I've heard that phrase bandied about so many times lately I just don't even take it in any more. A Google search reveals over a million web pages out there bearing that combination of words at some point.
posted by James Russell |
5:19 PM
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