Monday, October 4, 2010

Acts 25 -- without a clue

OK, if you have to explain a joke, it probably isn't very funny -- but at the risk of puzzling my myriad fans, I'm going to start today's essay with a comic SQL[1] dialogue.

SELECT * FROM users WHERE clue > 0;

0 rows returned

How many users have a clue about what's going on? Zero.

Felix kept Paul incarcerated for two years hoping for a bribe. He was a political prisoner, whose captivity served the career goals of a corrupt local politician. When Festus came into office, he tried to please both Jewish prejudice and Roman legalism. As a Roman jurist, he recognized that there was no legal reason for holding Paul captive. So why not give him a Roman show trial -- but have it in Jerusalem, where the restless natives could show and demonstrate to their hearts' content outside the courtroom? Festus, however, did not understand the insane hatred of these restive natives. A Paul sent to Jerusalem would be a Paul sent to his death -- and Paul's reaction was a polite, but firm, "No way Jose!" As a Roman citizen, he appeals to Caesar. And Festus is at a loss. He asks another bureaucrat for advice, someone who is more familiar with Jewish culture. After all, how can I send someone to Caesar's court without an accusation against him?
Act 25:27 Bir tutukluyu İmparator'a gönderirken, kendisine yöneltilen suçlamaları belirtmemek bence anlamsız."
Let's just look at one word (anlamsız), and its variations:
  • anlam -- meaning. sense. point. explanation. acceptation. construction. content. denotation. effect. hang. import. inference. purport. purview. significance. significancy. signification. sound. strain. tenor.
  • anlama -- understanding. knowledge. comprehension. apprehension. appreciation. drift. fathom. grasp. grip. insight. intelligence. prehension. realization. sense. uptake.
  • anlamak -- understand. comprehend. figure out. get a grip. get a grip on. be knowledgeable about. see. get. feel. absorb. accept. appreciate. apprehend. ascertain. catch. catch on. click. compass. conceive. cotton on to. dawn on. deduce. dig. discern. discover.
  • anlamsız -- devoid of all of the above. Without a clue.
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[1] SQL = Structured Query Language, a simplified way of talking to a database.

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