GammaGlobulin

Culture is important. Color and ethnicity are not.

What about the color purple? I mean the Spielberg film. One of my favorites.

When I first encountered these huntsman spiders in Taiwan, which are extremely fleet of toe (spiders don't have feet, but have toe pads), I became deathly afraid to enter the bathrooms in the house, because the bathrooms was where they usually hung out. After a few years, one becomes accustomed to having them around. These days, I see them as a positive addition to my house. I even think that I might be lost without them. It truly is amazing just how fast these spiders can zoom around when you try to chase them. My advice is to view these spiders from a different perspective. Try to put yourself in the shoes of arachnologist. As yourself, "What would an arachnologist do?" If you follow my advice, you will be able to save money by not needing to buy many cans of Raid while living in Asia.

Dear Friends, When posting on various social-media forums, do you always write in the same style? Or do you mix it up a bit? The reason I ask this question is because I am just wondering about what you might do, while posting, to avoid becoming STALE. Here is what I do: While posting, I sometimes imagine that I am a famous author. And then, I try to emulate and duplicate the famous author’s writing style, even while communicating my own ideas. For example, some of the writing styles I have not yet tried, except maybe during very occasional fleeting and fanciful moments, are the writing styles of authors such as Voltaire (Candide, my favorite!), Kafka (Castle, Trial, and my favorite short story, The Metamorphosis), Dostoevsky (Brothers K., another great short story), Twain (Innocents Abroad, exceedingly humorous style of writing), and a few others. In my view, one would do well to practice writing using slightly different styles in order to avoid becoming boring to others. And, speaking of being bored, my favorite quote from Zelda’s writing is: 'She refused to be bored chiefly because she wasn't boring.’ -Zelda Fitzgerald Of course, nobody is able to go through life writing in only one style. We must focus on pleasing our audience, for one. And, when we write for children, then we must appropriately change our style in order to more effectively communicate with our little friends. And when I say “little friends” I am using the phrase that most Chinese use to refer to people under the age of about 10. In Chinese, “little friends” is translated XiaoPengYou-小朋友. So, really, I am asking how others here stay fresh when posting comments on forums. What strategies have you attempted to use, recently? Best regards, And may your writing never be boring, GammaGlobbulin

Wow, Man! I am gratified that you clearly understand this OP: This OP is really all about doing LESS with MORE! In other words, this is the TRUE meaning of EPHEMERALIZATION, in fact. You may not know, but BUCKY Fuller, during one period in his life, actually decided to go a FULL YEAR without talking, not even one word! Maybe I should do the same? Or, maybe I should begin posting in more of a HAIKU style? Anyway, if you are interested in BUCKY's writing style, which is anything but "less is more", I will, in the comments below, add a few samples of BUCKY's scribblings. I am sure that you will enjoy reading what he wrote about DOING MORE WITH LESS. I have always found this guy fascinating, as have many others during the past century. Thank you for your reply!

No harm done. All constructive comments are definitely welcome.

Dear friends, Of late, we have increasingly seen many topics posted on the forum about AI taking over the world, about AI-related automation taking our jobs, even one recently posted Topic about AI-proof Pattaya Bar Girls, no less. But I am confident that this OP will not remind you too much of those tired old memes. The young people of today seem to mistakenly believe that this concept of robotics and automation is new, but it’s not. Ephemeralization is a term coined by R. Buckminster Fuller in 1938. At the time, he wrote of “the ability of technological advancement to do "more and more with less and less until eventually you can do everything with nothing," that is, an accelerating increase in the efficiency of achieving the same or more output (products, services, information, etc.) while requiring less input (effort, time, materials, resources, etc.),” (Nine Chains to the Moon, Fuller, 1938) Fuller envisioned a “future prosperity driven by ephemeralization.” And he was sure that ephemeralization would “lead to ever-increasing standards of living and an ever-growing population despite finite resources.” Well, that doesn’t sound very Malthusian, and he must have been an optimist at heart. If you haven’t already, I think you might like to read (re-read) a few of Fuller's books, not just for a better historical perspective, but because they are fun, just like his Dymaxion Car, for example. A link from the Guardian about the Dymaxion: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2010/oct/05/norman-foster-dymaxion-buckminster-fuller I am sure that there are many people on this forum as old as I who remember Fuller, or may even have listened to him lecture. If you have now forgotten what he sounded like when giving a presentation, here is a lecture sample on UTUBE: Bucky was extremely popular with the hippies in San Francisco, as I recall. But that was before they cut off all their hair. Was he popular with you, too, when you were a hippy in San Francisco during the late 1960s? I was never a hippy, but he was still a favorite of mine when I was young and impressionable. These days, knowing what I know, I would be much more circumspect about having faith in famous technologist-visionaries. And, as well, I don’t think my fellow-alumnus Elon is an optimist, either. Elon’s prime directive seems to be finding some way to move human intelligence to Mars, as if he expects armageddon on Earth, any day now. He has even stated that he is in a hurry! Since my arrival in Thailand, my views about humanity and our place in the universe have changed quite a bit. I do not mean that my views have changed solely due to my experience living immersed in Thai culture, though this is probably a part of my shift in perspective. Being the scientist I am, I am free to change my views which are not based on faith or ideology. Technology is NOT science. People can have faith in technology, just as Marxism is also faith-based. But there is no room for faith in science. These days, I am seriously considering making a move up to Chiang Rai and becoming even more of a hermit than I have ever been. I do not mean that I intend to live off the land, unconnected to the grid or the internet, or anything like that. I am just saying that I want to find a quiet place where I can focus on the few things that still interest me, or remain meaningful to me, such as tea for example. And, I’m tired of dreaming about the greening of Mars. Let the Red Planet be! When I was younger, before the advent of the internet, I would spend most of my free time reading books. But I don’t read books anymore. The internet spoiled that pleasure for me. Somehow, like the frog in the pot, I became obliviously caught up in this technological world, and one not of my choosing. So then, Guys, what do you think? Here you are in Thailand, and surely it is a blessing. Are you going to waste this precious gift by spending time in tourist areas, in the farang bars,or on a jet ski, ฯลฯ? Or, is being here in Thailand one of the last remaining places where we can still experience life in a less technologically-driven world, if only we would do so, maybe up in the mountains in Chiang Rai. I once lived for a few years under martial law, with no television, no radio, no English newspapers, and no uncensored magazines. Life was anything but boring for me. How did I spend my days? I enjoy food, and so I ate. I enjoy music, and so I listened to my studio-grade Nakamichi professional cassette deck. I enjoy reading, and I had books. I drank a LOT of Chinese tea, and it was usually DongDing WuLong. I am happiest immersed in Asian culture, and so I became immersed in it. Naturally, I am aware that one cannot achieve purest bliss by retreating into complete hermitness without some meaningful work, or committing to some ongoing self-imposed obligation to provide service to others. Concerning meaningful work, this need not be gainful employment. For example, I have been toying with the idea of writing my memoirs and then posting them, in installments, on some good forum. Having spent time chatting with people in the local community, it is my belief that some members of this group of people prefer not to worry or plan too far into the future, as Savoy Brown seemed to advocate, too, in the song, “Stay While The Night Is Young.” As for me, I would prefer to now have some sort of well-formulated five-year plan for returning to the kind of existence I once enjoyed under martial law, replete with tea, books, music, good food, and a bit more. Still, I am not saying that it would not be absolutely impossible for me to live without access to a free and unfettered internet connection to the outside world. (This must be my first triple negative on TV, or actually this is a quadruple negative if you were to count.) I am saying that I am, in a sense, wasting my life when I permit myself to be so distracted by internet fare that I lose sight of the importance of books, and I do NOT mean ebooks, either. I also do not mean stupid books written by dumb authors; I mean the fantasy-type garbage such as Potter and that loony Ring book. I am also not saying that I am against the further exploration of outer space at an increased pace. However, logically, we should be doing our exploration using robots, not humans. Humans are utterly ill designed for space travel or living on Mars. My fellow-alumnus Elon has become carried away with his Tom Switian fantasies, just like Tolkien, except that Elon actually believes in his. I read the trilogy, Red Mars/Green Mars, and I doubt we will ever see a Blue Mars. So, again, I need a five-year plan which will wean me from the internet so that I can stop wasting my life in the virtual world, and, instead, get back to the garden, like Chauncey. Likewise, I wonder if you, too, have some five-year plan with a similar goal in mind. Or, are you still more of a believer in ephemeralization? It’s good to follow the scientific method. It’s bad to lose yourself in some technological-salvation-of-humanity fantasy. I don’t even care if you buy a car, or two, or three, but just don’t delude yourself into believing that more than one is necessary. So what’s your plan to get back to the garden, with Chauncey? Fondest regards, And may you finally find your piece of heaven, Gamma Note: If your plan is to go to some place similar to the place I would like to be, then continuing practice of passa Thai is essential.

If loving you is wrong, I don't want to be right. So true.

You forgot item "f)" f) all of the above But seriously, and thank you for your reply, I think I have hit upon a solution. Please let me explain, if you have the time to listen. aa. First, I did as you suggested. And it was a good suggestion. I DID consult an AI for guidance. Unfortunately, Google's Bard was not much help. He just gave me the same old books I already knew. And he also mentioned the Academic Word List (AWL), which I had spoken of in one of my previous comments. However, after much discussion with Bard, he finally coughed up a wordlist of only 10 words which are these: "I understand. Here are some more advanced vocabulary words that you might not know: adumbrate: (v.) to foreshadow or hint at something apperception: (n.) the process of understanding something through one's own experience circumspect: (adj.) cautious and wary conundrum: (n.) a difficult or puzzling problem discombobulate: (v.) to confuse or bewilder someone eldritch: (adj.) strange or unearthly esoterica: (n.) the study of esoteric subjects frivolity: (n.) the quality of being silly or trivial hermetic: (adj.) sealed or closed off from the outside world These are just a few examples of the many advanced vocabulary words that are available. I hope this helps!" Now, as you can see, I think Bard is really getting somewhere on this project. For example, truth be told, I did not know the meaning of adumbrate and eldritch. Therefore, I would most definitely add these two to my perfect MasterList for flashcard deck creation. Therefore, again, thank you for your suggestion. bb. But here is where your suggestion really paid off: As soon as I thought about the idea of adding only the words I did not know to some grand vocabulary flashcard deck, it immediately hit me. It was a true Aha moment. I was suddenly struck with the insight that I could create my OWN personal English vocabulary flashcard deck which would be more challenging to ME! cc. Let me explain how you, TOO, can EASILY create your own personal ANKI English-vocabulary flashcard deck using the two GRE decks that I have already linked in my comments above: a. Just download both text files. (Importantly, the words adumbrate and eldritch are in these lists, BUT, most unfortunately, the word apperception is MISSING from the GRE lists.) b. Next, import these two text files to your favorite spreadsheet program, and mine is GOOGLE SHEETS. c. Then, methodically go down the list of about 12,000 entries, row by row, while deleting all vocabulary terms that you already know. This might take only an hour of quick work. d. After completing step, c, then you might be left with a few words, or more, depending. Let us say, for arguments sake, you are left with 500 words out of the original 12,000, that you do not know, and that is being very optimistic. You can proceed on to step 'e'. e. You really should have chosen GOOGLE SHEETS as your spreadsheet of choice. Why? Because, you need to be using GOOGLE SHEETS in order to upload your spreadsheet to the ANKI deck you are creating. You just need to NAME your deck after clicking the CREATE DECK button. And then go to the IMPORT function. And then upload your spreadsheet to the deck you just named and created. f. So, really, it's as simple as that. g. But, your are NOT finished yet! h. After you have your flashcard deck working on ANKI app, then you will probably want to add audio for each vocabulary term in your deck. i. How To: How to add audio to your flashcard deck? It's easy. Just use the ANKI browser to open your deck, and then select ALL of the words in the deck. Then, just hit the ADD TTS AUDIO TO SELECTED NOTES button. Here, you will see a menu giving you choices of various ROBOT VOICES. I always choose Google Translate Voice, just because Google's Female Voice is better than that of BAIDU SPEECH or IBM Watson, to name but two of the many ROBOT VOICES available. Well, there you have it, my friend. This is the best and easiest way to create an ANKI flashcard deck containing all the GRE vocabulary that you might not know, and NONE of the GRE vocabulary that you already know. In my case, I have not yet tried to estimate, by careful analysis of the entire two posted text files, how many words I will have in my final and personal GRE-exam-related flashcard deck. However, at the present time, as I write these words, I can only tell you that I only notice a very few that I am able to add to my personalized ANKI vocabulary flashcard deck. I am not ashamed to list a few here. I am old, and I am not so easily embarrassed by my ignorance, as I once may have been. That's just one of the many blessings of the aging process. So here are a few.... Acarpous (HaHaHa! Even the spellchecker used on the forum does not recognize this word! When I type acarpous, all I get is a long red line under acarpous. Really cracks me up!) Arabesque A posture in which the body is supported on one leg, with the other leg extended horizontally backward. Luculent (of writing or speech) clearly expressed. Clear, lucid, crystal clear, limpid, pellucid, unambiguous So, just guesstimating, which is not even a real word, I think my final vocabulary flashcard deck might have about 60 words in it. Probably not worth the effort of creating and uploading an ANKI deck. Still, there might be some useful words in the two text files that some might wish to use on this OP, such as the word...LOGORRHEA. I dunno, because I cannot speak for what words others might or might not wish to use here. So, in conclusion, I think the two text files are still fun. And, some of you might wish to upload the relevant decks which have already been created on ANKI. Hey! I spotted another word I am not sure about... Sure, it is clear to all of us what the word lucid means... But, the word PELLUCID? Clearly, this is a word worth knowing....

OK...But...THANK YOU....and...I think I might have just found something of interest to "some" of the old geezers (like me, of course) in the Pub: Here is a deck I found published on ANKIWEB. The title of the flashcard deck is "Lifelong Learning - Advanced English Vocabulary" The link for this deck which is a cinch to download and install on ANKI app is here: https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/1748072575 I have now downloaded and installed this deck on my ANKI app, and I have also exported the complete vocabulary contained therein to a text file, which I will attach to this comment. As the title of this deck suggests, this wordlist might be suitable and interesting for many in the Pub. However, if you ask my honest opinion, for many guys in their 60s and 70s, native-English speakers who have done a lot of reading throughout their lives, and also for the guys who love to do crosswords, this GRE-based wordlist will be anything BUT a fun challenge. Fortunately, however, the attached vocabulary list DOES include the word "TURGID", because one of the commenters above implied that my writing style was verbose. I would have preferred that he had used the more appropriate adjective, turgid, to describe my writing. So, maybe the attached vocabulary list will be of some use to him. In conclusion, If someone here believes that the attached LIFELONG-Learning-vocabulary offering might be of use, then download the flashcard deck, and have at it. I am sure that some here will appreciate it. (By the way, this flashcard deck is very long with 8000 entries, it seems, and it might take about a minute to download and install, as a result of its size.) I do hope this deck might bring happiness to at least somebody here. The creators of ANKI flashcard decks, some of them at least, truly do spend a great deal of effort, and hundreds of hours, if not thousands of hours, on deck creation before publishing on ANKIWEB. So...thank you for your work! Selected Notes LIFELONG LEARNING -Advanced English Vocabulary.txt

Thank you, but this is not the resource I need to find a suitable wordlist composed of much more advanced Tier-2 and Tier-3 vocabulary. Here, we are not really concerned with the teaching of language, nor the strategies for teaching languages, not the teaching of ESL students. The interest here is in finding a suitable wordlist for use with the ANKI app, one which is advanced enough so that daily practice of such list will be interesting to native-English speakers. If you have any suggestions, please post here. And I will continue to search, as well. It is possible that a suitable wordlist has already been created and posted on ANKIWEB. If you know of one, that would also be helpful.

In light of my previous comment, what is needed to play "The GAME", as originally proposed in the OP, is a more challenging wordlist for all the many wordsmiths either lurking or posting on the forum. During the past hour, I have been googling a suitable list of ACADEMIC VOCABULARY composed of words that are critical for comprehension of academic writing at either the PhD level or the research level. Of course, I am aware of the Academic Word List (AWL) compiled by A. COXHEAD, and copied by many in the year 2000. However, the AWL is quite short, and seems to be compiled for those non-native-English speakers, such as ESL learners preparing for TOEFL, who are about to enter their undergrad years at university. Such a list is just completely unsuitable for playing The GAME. I will continue to search for a better list of academic vocabulary. When I find a suitable list, I will create an ANKI flashcard deck, and publish it on ANKIWEB. Better yet, I am quite certain there are those on this forum who already know of a FAR BETTER wordlist, even without searching the internet. The list must be composed mostly of academic vocabulary which is commonly encountered in academic textbooks in the Social Sciences and the Natural Sciences, but NOT in Economics textbooks. Economics, after all, is not a science. If someone here can post an excellent wordlist in the comments, then I will use it in compiling a list to be published on ANKI. If you know of a vocabulary list already existing on ANKIWEB, please link in the comments. That would be the preferable solution....(no need to reinvent the wheel, as they say). Please kindly refer to this link if you wish to know more about COXHEAD and her AWL... https://www.victoria.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/1626131/Coxhead-2000.pdf She is a prof based in NZ, and she knows a heck of a lot about wordlists and also about ESL learners. She is very well known and well respected in her field. You will find that the AWL existed before her work, and that she seems to have worked on a New Academic Word List (NAWL).

As promised above, attached here is a text file exported from ANKI showing the entire GRE MASTERLIST. In fact, when you see the entire list, you will realize that this BARRON's GRE vocabulary list is, with a few rare exceptions, definitely a PIECE OF CAKE. Therefore, anyone choosing to use this deck should be able to finish it posthaste. And furthermore, if you are interested in blowing your mind memorizing some difficult English vocabulary, then you will need to search for a more difficult deck, using the ANKI search function. Personally, I find this list to be kind of a letdown after all my unintended hype about it. Still, this deck will definitely be useful for the many good non-native-English speakers who enjoy this Pub forum. And so, this deck is my gift to them. Please ENJOY your practice. (I am really surprised by this list because I have come across far more challenging vocabulary prep lists for the GRE. And, call me lazy, but this is the first time I have exported this list from ANKY to a text file. Sorry about that!) What we REALLY need in any suitable list are more words like EPISTEMOLOGY, and so many more. Otherwise, such a list is just not worth its salt. But that, ironically speaking, is just my opinion. Selected Notes GRE MASTERLIST.txt

Thank you VERY much for your comment in support of my opinion concerning the many benefits of using the ANKI app. As for verbosity, it's just not my bag, Man. Speaking of mnemonic strategies for learning Trig functions: What do you know about that teacher who was suspended for dancing in Math class while chanting... SOH-CAH-TOA? (ANKI is certainly safer than doing that!) https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2021/10/california-teacher-suspended-over-offensive-native-american-imitation.html Thank you for your comment.

OK, FINE.... And NOW, a word about this all-too-important concept of DELIBERATE PRACTICE, of which the use of the ANKI app is a perfect example: What, actually, IS this concept of DELIBERATE PRACTICE? Well, before I give you the formal definition, I just want to say that any good golfer is already familiar with the term or the concept of deliberate practice. Do you think that a golfer scores below par for the course because he spends all his time practicing easy golf shots? NO, that would be ludicrous. Great golfers practice, over and over and over, the most difficult shots, they work tirelessly to correct their weak points, their improper form. This is the concept of deliberate practice, and deliberate practice is NOT fun. Only the practice of easy shots, or re-learning what we already know, is FUN. And ANKI definitely is a perfect example of DELIBERATE PRACTICE because ANKI faithfully, day after day, week by week, month after month after month, consistently ONLY asks you to practice what you DON'T already know. And THIS very hard work, with no easy work, is what makes ANKI effective. After stating the above, do you think it is really necessary for me to give you the formal definition of DELIBERATE PRACTICE? YES!: "Deliberate practice is defined as being effortful in nature, with the main goal of personal improvement of performance rather than enjoyment, and is often performed without immediate reward." Therefore, Guys, when using the ANKI app, day after day, you WILL make RAPID progress. But, PLEASE, just be MINDFUL of the fact that DELIBERATE PRACTICE is NOT FUN. If deliberate practice were fun, many more of us would consistently shoot under par, even on the more difficult golf courses. For some reason, the process of memorization is not fun. If you do not agree with MHO, I respect your different point of view.

One more important point about the use of the app ANKI, as it pertains to the Pub. Some of you might be asking the question: Do I need to significantly above average intelligence in order to memorize almost anything, including the GRE MASTERLIST of 5000+ vocabulary words. The answer is definitely.."NO". ANKI use an algorithm based on the proven method of spaced-repetition. I am convinced that even a 10-year-old of average intelligence could use the ANKI app to learn all 5000 words in the GRE list within a reasonable period of time. When I was at university, many moons ago, I was attending at a time of great experimentation using various methods of learning. One thing we discovered just through working with pigeons is just how effective some of these learning techniques can be. These days, as we know, the behaviorists (Behaviorism) have been almost completely pushed aside by new theories, but only superficially. ANKI, and other learning apps, still performs well partially based on the same old idea of stimulus-reward. We peck at the correct answer after being presented with a stimulus, a vocabulary term, we peck at the correct or incorrect answer, and then we are negatively or positively rewarded accordingly. Also, the algorithm of spaced-repetition is extremely effective for memorization and for maintaining in memory what one has already memorized. Forgetting what we have learned is less easy. The link between the word and its definition is more persistent in memory. Also importantly is the fact that one can use ANKI pretty much mindlessly, if one wishes. One need not spend a lot of effort "thinking about" the correct answer. In fact, if one wastes time thinking about the correct answer, more than a fraction of a second in most cases, then ANKI actually does not work for the learner as effectively as it otherwise can. So, what I maintain is that ANKI is quite suitable for old geezers like me who like to learn new facts, even a plethora of either obscure or non-obscure facts, but who are just too tired to bother thinking, or find the effort of thought just too taxing. These guys would prefer to just sit in a coffee shop and use the ANKI app for five minutes each day, and then, at the end of a 90-day period, be possessed of many new facts that they had never anticipated they were capable of learning. Sometimes, they might even wish to impress their fellows during morning coffees with the breadth of their newly acquired knowledge. And, doing so is FUN, for some. With regard to learning the GRE masterlist, ANKI does provide, of course, the basic function to easily adjust the number of new vocabulary words that it presents to the learner, per day. Therefore, it is a simple matter of dialing down this number to its lowest setting: maybe one or two new vocabulary terms per day. In this case, you will see one new word per day, and you will also see the words you are in the process of learning, as well as a few words that you have already mastered. I do not wish to go on and on about this because the best way for you to understand the ANKI app is to use it. As John Dewey famously (or infamously) maintained throughout his ignoble career as a two-bit philosopher: The best way to learn, and the ONLY way to learn, is... "Learning by Doing". I have always thought such nonsense could have only been proselytized so insistently by someone who was a dullard. (And this is the way one uses the word, DULLARD, in a sentence. I add this sentence because one of you commenters posted the word dullard in a comment above.)

One more reason, one among many, that I chose to post this TOPIC here, rather than post it in any Language-related forum, is because I know that there are a few grandfathers in the Pub who have grandchildren. And, it is sometimes the case that one's grandchildren may experience difficulties in school which are directly related to their lack of understanding about the best ways to memorize information which is presented to them in school. Therefore, I wished to suggest to these grandfathers that there is help at hand, and that grandfathers might pass this information along to the children they care about most. Let me relate just one anecdote I am most familiar with: I once had a Chinese lady tell me that her son was completely unable to memorize English vocabulary. She told me that she was at her wit's end, and had been losing sleep due to the worry involved. Being an exceedingly helpful person, by nature, I sent her the link to the ANKI app. I even offered to spend my time, for FREE, to create a few flashcard decks for her son, which ate up quite a few hours of my time. To make a long story short, as I often try to do, the upshot of this potentially divisive mother-son issue was that her son learned his English vocabulary, flawlessly. English became her son's favorite subject in school. He graduated with honors from his high school. And being an intellectually gifted child, he was later accepted at Harvard under its early admissions program for students showing particularly strong academic performance. This just goes to show that: Often, when a student suddenly is given the tools to excel in one subject, his success spills over in ways that help him to perform in all of his school subjects. ANKI app is, therefore, really nothing to sneeze at. And, the ANKI app works great for all ages. I hope that, through posting this topic here, at least one or two of you might give ANKI a try. I love ANKI...I DO!

I realize that some of you may come to the conclusion that I have posted this OP in a slightly jocular fashion, and you would be correct, because I am at heart a rather playful fellow when it comes to writing, not unlike one of my heroes, Mr. Twain. But still, I am definitely, in no way, joking about the importance for learners, worldwide, of this amazing software app ANKI. ANKI has truly helped countless millions around the world. I am exceedingly grateful to the developers and maintainers of this software. SO NOW, please let me post the link to the ANKI SUPPORT FORUM: https://forums.ankiweb.net/ I would say that 99.99 percent of guys on this forum are serious about learning. The comments are ALWAYS helpful. This forum is, also, well maintained. I am NOT JOKING, People. If you experience a problem using ANKI, or you have an observation to make concerning the ANKI app, just post respectfully, clearly, and concisely on this forum, and you will get an almost-immediate helpful reply. During the past decade, I have become ever-more grateful for having access to the use of this app (for FREE, too, on Windows, ANDROID, and LINUX.

Jack Nicholson: Where are you when we need you MOST?!!!!!

"WHY?", you have asked. Thank you for the question: a. In this case, since my target audience is, if only partially, Old Geezers like me, I KNOW that ANKI can be very helpful for helping us to memorize/learn more effectively. If ones powers of memorization might be waning, then ANKI can be very helpful. And, there are PLENTY of ready-to-use flashcard decks, created by other users, from which to choose on a whole host of diverse subjects. You just need to use the ANKI flashcard deck search function to easily and quickly find what you are seeking, some list of vocabulary or facts that tickles your fancy. So, THIS is why I posted this OP in the pub; it has been proven to be helpful even for us old geezers. b. If you mean WHY did I choose to post the link to the GRE VOCABULARY MASTER WORDLIST flashcard deck? Well, this deck is quite challenging. If you attempt to memorize the list of words included in the deck, then you will see. I chose NOT to post the link to the SAT vocabulary deck(s) because I did not wish to criticized for making things overly easy. Maybe I can add a link to the PDF document showing the vocabulary contained in the GRE MASTER LIST in near future. But let's first just take a look at a sample of the FIRST 5 words, as they pop up in the ANKI app while using this flashcard deck: PRETERITION: 1. The act of passing by, disregarding, or omitting. 2. (Law) Neglect of a testator to mention a legal heir in his or her will. 3. (Christianity) The Calvinist doctrine that God neglected to designate those who would be damned, positively determining only the elect. SENTENTIOUS: pithy; terse; concise; aphoristic DISCURSIVE: (of a person or writing) digressing; rambling (without any clear plan) DESUETUDE: A state of disuse or inactivity PERIPETEIA: A sudden change of events or reversal of circumstances, especially in a literary work b2. I have ALREADY stated in the OP that any who wish can easily choose a much easier ANKI flashcard deck containing easier English vocabulary to suit the needs of almost anybody. So, I do not think that I am being a vocabulary snob, in this case. c. Why is it important for everyone, not just Old Geezers, to push themselves, especially when we are young, to engage in an academic-word learning program of self study, and to maintain this self-study throughout our lives? I think the answer is obvious. Please refer to the extensive literature, on line, as my fellow-alumnus Chomsky always tells us. d. One additional reason I posted this topic in the Pub is because this is good entertainment for old guys (as well as young guys), and it might be helpful health-wise, and it can really help people in many ways to learn and memorize important facts of life that we need to know, such as the names of all automobiles manufactured in any given decade between 1900 and 1970, with an IMAGE of each auto included in the deck, together with key facts about each auto. I do not know if a flashcard deck as specific as this already exists on ANKIWEB, or if you might need to create your own. So then...go ahead and create your own deck, and then if it is good enough, you can upload to the ANKI inventory of available decks, with your name on it. Certainly this is one activity that can be helpful to both you and others. e. Another important reason: Some old geezers, like me, may not know that this ANKI app exists. And, we know that old guys who come to Thailand sometimes struggle to learn how to read Thai script. They have never learned a language before, and they feel intimidated by the prospect. I just want these old guys to know that ANKI exists to help them learn Thai script and to fit in more easily while retiring here, and make their lives easier when doing things like ordering a meal from a menu written in Thai script. I actually have a few more valid reasons for creating and posting this OP in the Pub, but I do not wish to be viewed a being overly tedious in my writing. This OP is not a joke post, and maintaining optimum cognitive function is no joking matter. SO THEN, thank you very much for providing me the opportunity to reply to your question WHY, because if you had not asked, then you would not know.

Dullard is a wonderful and, in my opinion, highly underused word in the English vocabulary. These days, due to PC, we just cannot use the word dullard as much as we should. Please Note: I still recall the first time I encountered the word 'dullard" while reading one of my favorite novels: The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling...a great book by my then favorite author, Henry Fielding.

For alcohol withdrawal therapy, which is the Topic: Valium should NEVER be used in any outpatient scenario. For in-patient therapy, Valium is a godsend.

Just ask Truman Capote. I believe it was he who gradually became dependent on diazepam (valium) or some other tranquilizer. From the NYT: "Mr. Gold said barbituates, Valium, anti-seizure drugs, and pain killers found during toxicological tests were all medicines prescribed for the novelist. Mr. Capote, 59 years old, who publicly conceded having a longtime problem with alcohol and drugs, died in his sleep last Aug. 25 in the Bel Air home of his friend Joanne Carson, the second wife of the television comedian Johnny Carson. He had been a guest in her home since Aug. 20." Unless you want to get REALLY stuck, then avoid Valium, as well as other psychotropic drugs, like the plague. I have never had a problem with Valium because I know that Valium/Dalmane is for very short time us, only, unless it is being used for sedation before surgery, etc, in the hospital setting. There are plenty of horror stories available concerning use of this drug, tapering off this drug, suicide from this drug, you name it... Such as: "Jordan Peterson seeks 'emergency' drug detox treatment in Russia" https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/jordan-peterson-treatment-russia-1.5456939 I had a friend who got strung out on Valium and other drugs as well as alcohol. He was only 35. He put an end to his pain by jumping off the roof of one of those very tall buildings/flats built during the Soviet era, somewhere in a city in Serbia. After reading the literature, I would NEVER take antidepressants, which I think is what affected Peterson, but not sure. IMHO, modern psychotropic drugs do more harm than good. I can only speak for myself: You could not pay me enough to take those kinds of prescription drugs. WHY? Well, if you had studied the brain, as have I, then you would know that the brain will adapt to compensate for any psychotropic drug. Therefore anything but VERY short-term use is a losing game. It's so OBVIOUS. How dumb do you gotta be to understand the SCIENCE? (I am NOT a medical doctor. But, for that matter, MDs, medical doctors are ALSO not Scientists. They practice the ART of medicine, not the SCIENCE of medicine. Therefore, you just gotta do your own due diligence. With psychotropic drugs....THERE IS NO FREE LUNCH!)

In addition, while reading this OP carefully, you will note that I mentioned Chinese Tea of Good Quality at the end of my submission, and there was valid reason which pertains to the entire thrust of this Topic. There are very many peer-reviewed studies which demonstrate a positive correlation between tea consumption (i.e. caffeine consumption) and cognitive function including verbal skills, memorization, and more. Please feel free to search and download the multitude of pertinent research available on the internet. Keep in mind that a little caffeine goes a long way. Too much and one's anxiety level increases to the point that the intake of caffeine becomes counterproductive for most intellectual pursuits. And, when writing, by all means, feel free to imbibe in a cuppa... But, even when one is composing, as I say, a little goes a long way. I even believe that tea is particularly good to get the aging brain up to speed. Feel free to run your own experimental trials using between one and five cups of tea. You might be surprised. And, my tea has gotta be from China, or it doesn't seem to have the desired effect.

One more point: Many of you enjoy doing crossword puzzles. If you refer to the ANKIWEB page, linked HERE: https://ankiweb.net/shared/decks/ You will probably find a deck/decks created by others to improve your crossword-puzzle vocab. Personally, I find doing the crossword a waste of time, but I appreciate that others cannot do without one or two in the mornings. Will Shortz is a maniac. There is an ANKI Search Engine on this page to help you find the flashcard deck more suited to your interests. I chose the GRE Master Deck because I was concerned that some here might tell me that I was making life too easy for them. Please also note that you can easily create and upload your own spreadsheet of things to be learned to your personal ANKI account. I have created many decks for others for various purposes. Creating a deck is time-consuming but the advantage is that you know what you are getting. Using ANKI, by the way, is THE fastest way to learn how to read Thai script. But, the MAIN Reason I posted this OP here is because THIS OP is intended for SEPTUAGENARIANS (why did they add a U to this word, anyway?), and NOT for language-learners. Probably nobody in their right mind will use all of the vocabulary from the GRE MASTER list while out on the links. Well, maybe one in this pub might, but certainly not most not most of us. Personally, I like to listen to guys that use BIG WORDS...but only when they know how to string them together, and string them beautifully. That's the difference, really. Syntactic Complexity is good, and Big Words are often more concise. But if you cannot string them together with brevity and clarity, then better to just by another Hemingway. I once knew a guy from a small island on the equator. He studied for his PhD at the uni near here. He LOVED big words, and he had memorized them all. Unfortunately, when he tried to use the words he had memorized, his sentences, paragraphs, and chapters were stilted.... Such a pedant was he! Therefore, feel free to learn vocabulary in Barron's GRE List. But, also, check the dictionary for example sentences, too. And then write a few of your own. It can't hurt, painful as the process might be.