Dē Vītā Brevis et Wit Ārtefāctōrum Ǣtērna essendō
Bonus Easter Easyread (with Easter contest at the end!)
I trust you are enjoying this long weekend, whatever form your Easter celebration takes.
When it comes to Easter, having dabbled in etymology over more than 3 decades, I can’t help thinking that that word derives from ēastre the name given to the Anglo-Saxon goddess of dawn1 and it was a ‘branding and marketing’ decision to keep the name even as the underlying event was supplanted by what would have been pascha or some such.
I mention this because I have been pondering over how my own series here has been doing, in particular about how ‘technocentric’ may seem to people who just happen to stumble upon this substack during those chance moments of unpredictable digital footfall. I came to the startling realization that it might be being slightly misconstrued by the passers-by. Seeing the word ‘tech-’ the nerds would expect my articles to contain code about automatic database upgrades or something, whilst on the other extreme end, folk would expect me to be talking about iPhones and fixing printers.
So, as some of you may have noticed, there’s been a small rebrand of my Substack. In any case having it say “Ash’s Substack” seemed not only banal but also unnecessarily self-centered. So I hope you like what I’m calling it now: Vīta Brevis, Wit Artefāctōrum Ætērna. For, life’s too short indeed, and what matters is knowledge!
Let me also take a moment to throw some light on my oft-used word ‘artefact’, if you will indulge the stickler in me for words just a few moments more. It goes back to the Latin ‘artificium’ implying skill, craft, any creative application of human ingenuity. That is after all what the whole exploration is about.
In fact, that is indeed the original sense of the meaning of the word ‘artificial’, as used in the term ‘AI’, which only later developed the unfortunate connotation of ‘fake’ or ‘unreal’, the original sense that John McCarthy meant in 1955 when coining the term ‘artificial intelligence’.2 Furthermore, the Latin ‘art-’, as you see in the phrasing mine is inspired from, ‘vīta brevis, ārs longa’, indeed mirrors the Greek word ‘tekhnē’ in meaning and application, whence ultimately my original intent of the meaning in ‘technocentric’.3
Anyways, I don’t wish to take up too much of your weekend time, but let me also take this one-off post as an opportunity to express my gratitude to you for subscribing to and reading my work. It means a lot to me when you comment or share but even simply read my writing, and I always look forward to your feedback and encouragement. So, thank you very much!
Oh, and, the new name for my Substack has an Easter egg hidden in it. Why don’t you tell us in a comment below what you think that is? 🙂
The same word has a cognate in Sanskrit uṣás with the same meaning and connotations
If English had retained the word ‘artificial’ replaced, it would have been ‘craftlike’ or ‘craftly’
https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/techne
I could see how "tech" might imply computers, code, etc. to a lay audience, and so your re-brand idea seems reasonable (I liked the technical use of the "tech", but I get the need).