>> I just tried to look it up in my dictionary, and apparently I
>inventeded
>> it. I meant it to mean "characterized by meliorism."
>Once I know "meliorism" is a word, I don't think you invented
>"melioristic".
No, I wasn't using the OED. I keep Webster's New Universal Unabridged
Dictionary by the computer. I can pick it up with one hand, but I have
big hands and pretty good grip strength.
Invented or not, I threw in an extra 'e' to confuse matters.
I'm glad that my typo sparked a pseudo-thread. It's my impression that
most people tend to assign meaning to unfamiliar words according to
context, and when this is too difficult, to ignore unfamiliar words and
continue reading. I've encountered many astonished expressions when I
put down the book or magazine that I'm reading, consult Webster, and then
record the word, it's definition and the sentence in which I first
encountered it in my journal. I'm happy to see Virians (Virusites,
Viruseans) don't fit the pattern I'd observed in or projected onto the
general population.
Kenneth, I'm still digesting your 23 paragraph explanation and
elaboration on a previous post. Thanks for taking the time, but I still
don't have a firm enough grasp on your point to respond to it in anything
resembling an informed or intelligent fashion. That's not a request for
further elaboration. I may have specific questions later. Math was
never my strength, and when you have to approximate (what should be) the
familiar notation to accommodate the limitations of ascii, I find myself
overwhelmed. I'll have another crack at it though and see how it looks
on second approach.
Take care, all. -KMO