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المنشورات
C'est un fait curieux que ce que l'on appelle la "médecine intégrale/holistique" a, fréquemment, des racines dans des anciennes théories et modèles hyper-réductionnistes: ils se fixent obsessionnellement sur un seul fait physiologique, et ignorent entièrement l'intégralité plus vaste que la médecine et science moderne nous a révélé. L'exemple le plus parlant est sans doute celui de vitamine C et Linus Pauling. Pauling observa que des espèces réactives de l'oxygène nuisit aux structures cellulaires et à l'ADN, et il conclut que les antioxydants comme la vitamine C, qui battirent dans le laboratoire contre ces espèces néfaste de l'oxygène, guérirait les dommages qu'ils causèrents, y compris le cancer. Pourtant, il ignora que le corps lui-même produisait des antioxydants, les équilibrant soigneusement contre l'oxygène qu'ils combattaient. Inondé d'antioxydants exogènes, il supprima rapidement ceux qu'il eût produit lui-même. Or, vitamine C ne batte pas contre le cancer dans le corps. Pourtant, ignorant l'intégralité du corps, obsédé par une partie réductrice de la physiologie humaine, Pauling eût posé une pierre angulaire de la médecine intégrée moderne.
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Obvious presence and obvious absence
I recently heard an interview in which someone said "I don't know what justice is anymore, but this is not it." To keep the discussion apolitical, I won't tell you the specific thing he was talking about, but the idea was interesting.
It reminded me of a famous quotation from the the American Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, who was writing about obscenity, and said, "I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. **But I know it when I see it.**"
So, in the first quote, different people might disagree about what "justice" is--when two people look at the same situation, one person might call it just, and the other person might call it unjust. There might not be any situations that everybody would agree are just. However, there ARE several imaginable situations that are obviously unjust--whenever any reasonable person looks at that situation, they immediately know that it is unjust.
In the second quote, obscenity is exactly the opposite. Different people and cultures have different sensibilities, and there might not be any situations that everyone agrees are NOT obscene. However, there are some things that obviously ARE obscene, and when any reasonable person sees them, they agree that they are obscene.
Do you agree with these two quotes? Is one correct, but the other incorrect?
Other than justice, can you think of anything else whose absence is obvious, but whose presence is controversial?
Other than obscenity, can you think of anything else whose presence is obvious, but whose absence is controversial?
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Herons: mystical and majestic or ridiculous?
Short version: Herons are a group of birds that seem to be seen very differently by different cultures. How does your culture see herons?
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Long version: I believe that, for an American who has never visited Britain, I have a good understanding of British humor. However, while watching Taskmaster recently, I saw Greg Davies state that Mark Watson "looks like a heron," and then burst with pride and impish glee at his own temerity, smirking while the audience went wild. It was clear that, in some strange, British way, Mark Watson had been ...dealt with. Greg Davies was so proud of the insult that it became a running theme repeated over and over again during the series.
I just didn't get it. It seemed...accurate. Yes, Mark Watson looks like a heron, just like Robert Mueller looks like an eagle. I didn't see the insult. In America, the most common species of heron is the majestic Blue Heron, the subject of thousands of paintings in which it stands regally poised while mystic fog rises from the river beneath it. Any day which includes a heron sighting is, for me, definitively a good day. I would be quite proud to be compared to a heron.
When I googled "British Herons", I saw that your native Grey Heron does look a bit more ridiculous than the Blue Heron. And yes, I admit that herons in general have a bit of a goofy, ugly call, and are not the most elegant fliers in the world. But still, I have trouble imagining that herons could be seen as being as ridiculous as, say, geese.
So, am I correct that British people generally see herons as ridiculous animals? Can you think of other places where they are portrayed like that?
And, as I said, I am very interested in the opinions of other cultures. What kind of stereotypes do you have about herons?
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Il aime à s'appuyer sur quelque chose
Voila une citation tirée des pages de "La Peste" de Camus:
Ce n’est jamais agréable d’être malade, mais il y a des villes et des pays qui vous soutiennent dans la maladie, où l’on peut, en quelque sorte, se laisser aller. Un malade a besoin de douceur, il aime à s’appuyer sur quelque chose, c’est bien naturel.
Pourquoi Camus a-t-il dit "aime à s’appuyer", et non pas seulement "aime s'appuyer"?
Merci mille fois.
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A truly wonderful, caring, kind, (and humble!) human being.
So, I just answered my 1,000th question here on italki.
https://www.italki.com/question/494230
Now, dear friends, this is your opportunity to tell me what a nice, kind, helpful, intelligent, knowledgeable, conscientious, clearminded, creative, and lucid man I am. I would especially appreciate it if you complimented me on my humbleness, humility, and lack of vanity-- only a truly humble person would be conscientious enough to remind people to give him a compliment. :)
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I get up, wash my face, and...
Washing your face seems to be a major ritual and important part of the day for several cultures around the world. Washing the face appears commonly in Tang-Dynasty Chinese poetry, and whenever I ask my Chinese or Russian students to describe their day, they almost always begin, "I got up, washed my face, and...".
As a rural American, this is strange to me. I've talked to other Americans, both male and female, and it seems strange to them as well. Except for women removing makeup at the end of the day and teenagers with acne, Americans usually don't see their faces as filthier or more in need of cleaning than the rest of our bodies. I get up, brush my teeth, and take a shower. While I'm showering, I wash my face, but it's not a separate ritual.
So, is washing your face an important part of the day in your culture? Can you think of anything that might explain the difference between cultures where face-washing is important and cultures where it isn't?
I'd also like to hear from Brits on this question. Several of the British-made language resources that I use mention face-washing, but I've seen face-washing much less often in British TV and literature than I have in Chinese TV and literature. I'm not sure if this is actually part of British culture, or just something they add to language resources to account for their readers' culture. Do most Brits treat face-washing as a part of the morning ritual separate from showering?
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I like dogs I know are smart
So, I was just talking with a student, and realized that I didn't have a good explanation for a very common case of a structure that I've explained at least a hundred times. I'm hoping that one of you excellent people can help me explain this case.
1. I like dogs *that* like to run.
2. I like dogs (that) my mom likes, too.
3. I like dogs (that) I know are smart.
In sentence 1, "that" is required, because the second "like" needs a subject. In sentence 2, the "that" is optional, because the second "like" already has a subject. In sentence 3, my instincts strongly tell me that the "that" is optional, and I can find dozens of similar examples from other natives. Obviously, "know" has a subject, but "are" does not.
I can't say:
WRONG: "I like dogs are smart"--I would need to say "I like dogs THAT are smart."
So, why is it acceptable to say "I like dogs I know are smart"? Doesn't that leave "are" without a subject?
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"C'est un diocese fatigant que celui de Digne"
Hugo a ainsi décrit le diocese de Digne lui-même. Comment utilize-on cette structure de "c'est...que"? Pourriez-vous me donner d'autres exemples?
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Portrait du Personnage: Chaussures
Son pauvreté eut changé en nature, non pas en degré. Ses chaussures le montraient. Auparavant, quand, comme pauvre rechercheur cherchant des salamandres rares, il eut traversé quotidiennement des forets mouillées festonnées avec des mousses moites, les acides vegetales eurent dévoré la colle qui unissait semelle et cuir, provoquant la chute de ces tranches de caoutchouc au sol forestier, où ils serviraient de substrate aux mêmes vegetaux qui les eurent divorcé de ses pieds, de la même manière que les grands navires coulés sur coraux deviendraient les fondements des nouveaux récifs artificiels. Il se doutait souvent que l'ancienne forêt eut été établi toute entière sur un fondement des semelles perdues.
Mais puis sa fondation eut perdu son financement, et, sans fonds, il eut passé de chercher des salamandres à chercher de travail. Maintenant, il maintenait la maintenance de son porte-monnaie mince en travaillant dans une station essence vendant la substance carbonifère qui causerait le naufrage de son foret et le mort de ses salamandres. Tous les jours, quand il marchait les cinq kilomètres à la station, le ciment et asphalte sous ses pieds rongeaient le caoutchouc de ses semelles, et elles lentement s'évanouirent en plein air, ne serviraient plus jamais comme fondement de rien.
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The outermost layer of an onion.
The thin, dry stuff on the outside of an onion is called the "skin." You can't eat it. The things inside an onion, the parts that you can eat, are called "layers". But the outermost layer, the one closest to the skin, is different from the others. It's harder and tougher. Sometimes, it is so hard that you have to throw it away, just like the skin. At other times, you can trim off the edges, and eat most of it just like the other layers. And sometimes, you can use it in soup, but nothing else. I cook with onions almost every day, and every time I use an onion I need to make a decision about this layer. But I've never had a good name for it. In my part of America, no one ever uses a name for this thing.
But people use onions almost everywhere in the world. I'm sure some languages have names for the thing I'm talking about. You might even have idioms about it. You might use it in special ways. What can you tell me about the outermost layer of onions in your culture?
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