2026-09-20
Sorcery - the casting of spells.
Spelling - "in the beginning was the Word".
Words are not mathematical symbols, although they are symbols.
A mathematical symbol has (or should have) a precise unambiguous meaning. Thus the Greek letter mu "µ" means the arithmetic mean value, or average.
The word "mean" on the other hand comes freighted with other possible interpretations ... tight-fisted, the opposite of generous, thin, miserable, unpleasant, and used as a verb it explains what a word might, well, mean.
"Here's a prescription for xyz, take two tablets twice a day" comes freighted with the (probably and preferably not overtly stated) meaning that it will make you better. After all, that's why you are there.
Even if it doesn't of itself make you better, the recognised placebo effect may do so. The power of the mind in effecting recovery is undisputed. If you feel reassured and confident that this will help, recovery is thereby assisted, or at least not impeded by your mental state.
Two more examples of Government and Industry using the art of suggestion to further their own ends ...
And here's third example that lies at the very core of the troubles affecting our world today, but from the world of economics, that dismal art that depends entirely upon the assumptions proven and unproven of those who argue.
The basic assumptions around which most economic (and indeed political) arguments are built are designed to keep us from addressing the real issue:
Prosperity needs a system to create and support the efficient production of goods and services, not a system that enables government control over the minutiae of the activities of the population for fear that they will otherwise "do the wrong thing" ... give them the right incentives and they will do the right thing.
Saturday Class - Hamilton's American System and His Slanderers Today - September 19, 2026
Spot on.
