overapply and flowering
Konrad
tend to overapply the metaphor of the moment. I predict a flowering of
psychological theories in the next few years with the client/server
architecture (...)"
I can't find these in my dictionary: "overapply" and "flowering".
I suspect, "flowering" means that there will be more and more of
something (growing?). And "overapply" means something like... to attach
too big (too great?) weight/importance to something ?
Is that correct?
--
Konrad Papala
www.konradp.com
Adrian Bailey
news:d02hqr$2u4$1...@atlantis.news.tpi.pl...
> "(...) Although the analogies are usually enlightening, some scholars
> tend to overapply the metaphor of the moment. I predict a flowering of
> psychological theories in the next few years with the client/server
> architecture (...)"
>
> I can't find these in my dictionary: "overapply" and "flowering".
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=over-
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=apply
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=flower
Adrian
Wood Avens
wrote:
"Overapply" here seems to mean "apply too frequently" or "apply in too
many cases". "Flowering" you have correctly.
(When I first saw the heading I read it as "over-apple-y", especially
in conjunction with "flowering", so that the picture conjured up was
that of an apple tree in full bloom. I put this forward as an
argument in favour of the BrE practice of hyphenating: I doubt if I'd
have read "over-apply" in the same way.)
--
Katy Jennison
spamtrap: remove the first two letters after the @
Laura F. Spira
Oh, so did I! I was given some soap once that had an unpleasantly strong
artificial smell of apples and, as I read the word, the smell came back,
even though I knew that I was misreading it. Very odd.
--
Laura
(emulate St. George for email)
Donna Richoux
> "(...) Although the analogies are usually enlightening, some scholars
> tend to overapply the metaphor of the moment. I predict a flowering of
> psychological theories in the next few years with the client/server
> architecture (...)"
> I can't find these in my dictionary: "overapply"
"Over-" is a common prefix, it can be attached to many verbs. You didn't
find it because dictionaries don't try to list every possible prefixed
word.
>and "flowering".
The "-ing" form is a common verb ending. Some dictionaries show them
with the verb, others assume you know that every verb has such a form.
Check the verb "flower".
> I suspect, "flowering" means that there will be more and more of
> something (growing?).
Growing would suggest the whole plant getting bigger. Flowering often
means opening up, appearing, broadening, the way a flower expands from a
bud. It can also mean simply having flowers, being in bloom.
In this case, the writer means he expects more theories, and he probably
welcomes it (flowers are nice things).
>And "overapply" means something like... to attach
> too big (too great?) weight/importance to something ?
I would assume it means to apply the thing to too many cases, to apply
it where it doesn't fit. Like the old line: when all you have is a
hammer, everything looks like a nail. From the context, the scholars
trying to use a popular theory ("the metaphor of the moment") even when
it doesn't make sense.
--
Best -- Donna Richoux
Mike Page
<la...@DRAGONspira.fsbusiness.co.uk> wrote:
>Wood Avens wrote:
>>
>> (When I first saw the heading I read it as "over-apple-y", especially
>> in conjunction with "flowering", so that the picture conjured up was
>> that of an apple tree in full bloom. I put this forward as an
>> argument in favour of the BrE practice of hyphenating: I doubt if I'd
>> have read "over-apply" in the same way.)
>>
>
>Oh, so did I! I was given some soap once that had an unpleasantly strong
>artificial smell of apples and, as I read the word, the smell came back,
>even though I knew that I was misreading it. Very odd.
Stuck Smell Syndrome? I think it would not be a good idea to re-read
Proust in the near future.
Konrad
--
Konrad Papala
www.konradp.com
Roland Hutchinson
> Konrad <konradp@_removeit_o2.pl> wrote:
>
>> "(...) Although the analogies are usually enlightening, some scholars
>> tend to overapply the metaphor of the moment. I predict a flowering of
>> psychological theories in the next few years with the client/server
>> architecture (...)"
>
>> I can't find these in my dictionary: "overapply"
>
> "Over-" is a common prefix, it can be attached to many verbs. You didn't
> find it because dictionaries don't try to list every possible prefixed
> word.
>
>>and "flowering".
>
> The "-ing" form is a common verb ending. Some dictionaries show them
> with the verb, others assume you know that every verb has such a form.
> Check the verb "flower".
>
>> I suspect, "flowering" means that there will be more and more of
>> something (growing?).
>
> Growing would suggest the whole plant getting bigger. Flowering often
> means opening up, appearing, broadening, the way a flower expands from a
> bud. It can also mean simply having flowers, being in bloom.
A flowering of theories or ideas or something similar (it's a common
metaphor -- perhaps a cliche, even -- used for things like this) suggests
to me a couple of things typical of many flowering plants: (1) it happens
quickly; the flowers appear first as buds and then, seemingly all at the
same time, they all turn into full flowers. (2) The flowers appear
abundantly, in large numbers, and as the result of inevitable, unstoppable
natural forces, whenever (and provided that) conditions are right. So, the
metaphorical flowering of psychological theories stimulated by a new
technological idea, or the flowering of the arts under the patronage of
King So-and-so, etc. suggests that a lot of stuff happens or appears where
the was nothing (or very little, or at least significantly less) before,
and that this happens because the conditions have changed in a way that now
permits them to happen.
> In this case, the writer means he expects more theories, and he probably
> welcomes it (flowers are nice things)
Oh, no, I read it just the opposite way. (I.e., the welcome niceness of
flowers, if it enters at all, is used slightly ironically/sarcastically).
The author disapproves of how hastily and inappropriately psychologists
will tend to adopt whatever trendy buzzwords or technical-sounding
metaphors are floating around the general culture at any given moment.
>>And "overapply" means something like... to attach
>> too big (too great?) weight/importance to something ?
>
> I would assume it means to apply the thing to too many cases, to apply
> it where it doesn't fit. Like the old line: when all you have is a
> hammer, everything looks like a nail. From the context, the scholars
> trying to use a popular theory ("the metaphor of the moment") even when
> it doesn't make sense.
Exactly so. A synonym of "to overapply" would be "to apply too broadly". I
don't think "apply" ever means to "attach importance or weight" to
something. Here it just means to use (one could also say: to put into use
or to put into application). Apply also has a literal, physical sense that
isn't used here (e.g. to apply a label to an envelope or paint to a wall --
the general idea being that something is attached along the surface of
something else).
It's from the use of "overapply" that I read the author's tone as
disapproving. You can't logically approve of something that you say is
being overdone (at least not if you mean so literally. It could happen,
e.g, when for example, a critic might praise a work of art or a play for
its over-the-top, excessive, overdone qualities: "The frequent
overapplication of paint to the canvas lends visual power to
post-impressionist painting".)
--
Roland Hutchinson Will play viola da gamba for food.
NB mail to my.spamtrap [at] verizon.net is heavily filtered to
remove spam. If your message looks like spam I may not see it.
Donna Richoux
> It's from the use of "overapply" that I read the author's tone as
> disapproving. You can't logically approve of something that you say is
> being overdone (at least not if you mean so literally.
Well, we don't have the full context, and it doesn't matter much, but I
just want to say that I had read the excerpt as meaning some *old* idea
was being overworked and the writer looked forward to *newer*, better
theories being developed. But you're right, s/he may be going to say
that even more non-enlightening theories were in store. The original
quote:
>> "(...) Although the analogies are usually enlightening, some scholars
>> tend to overapply the metaphor of the moment. I predict a flowering
of
>> psychological theories in the next few years with the client/server
>> architecture (...)"
--
Best -- Donna Richoux