The Marginalian
The Marginalian

Reads tagged with “language”

E. B. White on Why Brevity Is Not the Gold Standard for Style
E. B. White on Why Brevity Is Not the Gold Standard for Style

“Writing is not an exercise in excision, it’s a journey into sound.”

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Babel No More: Inside the Secrets of Superhuman Language-Learners
Babel No More: Inside the Secrets of Superhuman Language-Learners

What a Chilean YouTube disaster and a busy Manhattan restaurant have to do with the limits of the human brain.

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The 11 Best Psychology and Philosophy Books of 2011
The 11 Best Psychology and Philosophy Books of 2011

What it means to be human, how pronouns are secretly shaping our lives, and why we believe.

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People Who Became Nouns: The Music Video
People Who Became Nouns: The Music Video

Boycott, Maverick, Guillotine, Shrapnel, Cardigan, Sandwich, Silhouette, Zeppelin, Leotard, Lamborghini.

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15 Years of Cutting-Edge Thinking on Understanding the Mind
15 Years of Cutting-Edge Thinking on Understanding the Mind

What mirror neurons have to do with Abu Ghraib, the science of religion, and how happiness flourishes.

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A Brief History of The Elements of Style and What Makes It Great
A Brief History of The Elements of Style and What Makes It Great

On depth in simplicity and beauty in plainness.

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The Origin of Snark: Original Illustrations from Lewis Carroll’s “The Hunting of the Snark,” 1876
The Origin of Snark: Original Illustrations from Lewis Carroll’s “The Hunting of the Snark,” 1876

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What Translation Reveals about the Human Condition
What Translation Reveals about the Human Condition

How to get a tarantula off your southwest leg, or what Astérix has to do with religion and the Manhattan grid.

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Culturomics: What We Can Learn from 5 Million Books
Culturomics: What We Can Learn from 5 Million Books

How to put your “beft” foot forward, or what the algorithm of censorship has to do with 1950.

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The Secret Life of Pronouns: Computational Linguistics and What Our Word Choices Reveal About Us
The Secret Life of Pronouns: Computational Linguistics and What Our Word Choices Reveal About Us

What the pronouns you use reveal about your thoughts and emotions, or how to liespot your everyday email.

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