Words have traditionally been the backbone of intelligent communications. Some researchers suggest that humans began using spoken words, anywhere between 50000 and 70000 years ago. Words then were often just a collation of sounds, but they seemed to have served their purpose. How they managed their communications in their worlds so long ago can only be imagined!
Today, in the second millennium of the common era, as
per Ethnologue, which is a language catalogue and resource site, there are
around 7111 languages in the world (not including dialects, sign languages)
with an estimated 840 million words.
And with such a surfeit of languages and words, our
world should naturally (if not certainly!) be a very interesting one for those
of us who will only take some time from our busy routines, to peek into the
world of words.
This time, the random
word that has surfaced is INTEREST.
What could possibly be so interesting about a
word that buries (inter) in itself, the remaining portion (rest)?
Well, the answers are many.
Think of family interests, nation-first
interests, business sectoral interests, religious interests – Groups
of individuals have been united because of their common concerns. In contrast, a
false promise or a wrong interpretation of these common interests
ended up as inter-generational disputes or ideological chasms, and have led to acrimonious
wars.
A liking, or a propensity for a
contrarian understanding of nature and human psychology – religious
institutions have taken some extreme steps when dealing with such novel
interests. Often, they have used proscription, bans, falsehoods and more to
retaliate!
Most of us find it difficult to acknowledge when we
act selfishly, but when one pursues self-interest, without regard for
others, then the world can be a very miserable place for those of us who are
not smart.
Interestingly, individuals like you and me are not just excited but
have also been obsessed on many matters of curiosity (pursuit of interest).
