'The mechanism functions like a wing to generate a lift force which is directed forward and turned into thrust,' says Frank Fish, a marine biologist at West Chester University of Pennsylvania.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Frank's Fin
I wouldn't normally draw your attention to this. But you need to read it because it contains the following:
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A blog about, among other things, imaginary ideas - What ifs? and Imagine thats. What if photographs looked nothing like what we see with our eyes? Imagine that the Berlin Wall had never come down. What if we were the punchline of an interminable joke? All contributions welcome.
Marine biologist Frank Fish: That is one heck of an aptronym, and one which no pun of mine could top. Kudos to his parents.
ReplyDeleteJake, thanks for that. Aptronym is a new word for me. I shall cherish it.
ReplyDeleteThere's supposed to be a scientific study somewhere that proves the increased likelyhood of someone forging a career in a job that matches their name. Wasn't it Jung that explored this avenue of thinking? (Synchronicity etc)
ReplyDeleteInterestingly (to me anyway) I was reading a book about G.K Chesterton last night whilst looking for a quote to put on my blog, and I discovered that his wife was called Frances Blogg.
I had to go and have a lie down after that.
I return to this Blogg delighted by that and by aptronym. The process of successful imitation of the dolphin I also find both delightful and inspiring. So is it just because I'm in strong scientiferous quibble mode that I find the second word of the second sentence of the article We're embarrassingly inefficient in the water so irksome?
ReplyDeleteI'm not the least embarrassed about my inefficiency in water. And I'm no slouch when it comes to such inefficiency, compared to Phelps or Adlington.
Likewise, I've never been bothered by not being as fast as a cheetah, as strong as a grizzly, as large as an elephant, as agile as a cat, as organised as an ant, as poisonous as a box jellyfish.
I've always rejoiced in the fact that in almost everything I do - playing the piano might be an exception - there's an animal that does it far better. My level of adverb annoyance this morning may need deeper explanation though.
Bernie Madoff.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend called Pious Divine. He's now in a seminary; don't think he got much choice..
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a lad, our veterinarian was named Dr. Wolf.
ReplyDelete