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February 19, 2005

A Book in Hand Is Worth Two in the Bush

I found the suggestion below at Pharyugula and traced it back through the following string of links: ProfGrrrr! to The Chronicles of Dr. Crazy to Feministe to Feministblogs to PSoTD to Reed Turttle and finally back to Feministe again! I really don't know where it started but it is an abnormal idea, so I liked it.

  1. Grab the nearest book.
  2. Open the book to page 123.
  3. Find the fifth sentence.
  4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
  5. Don't search around and look for the "coolest" book you can find. Do what's actually next to you.

Here goes, the nearest book is An introduction to Human Evolutionary Anatomy by Leslie Aiello. Now the problems begin. Page 123 is mostly taken up with figures and, by my count, there are not five complete sentences on the page. Aiello's sentences are often longer than mine. So I decided to modify rule 3 and use the fifth complete sentence starting on page 123. Here it is:

If careful estimates are made of the hidden increments (continuing on page 124) beneath the incisal edge of those teeth, good estimates of both the total crown formation time and of the extension rates of cervical enamel can be made.

That is a short Aiello sentence! I've been studying an issue involving H. floresiensis' femur in the hopes of publishing a meaningful, if amateur, post on the subject. Aiello is helpful for that kind of stuff. Normally the nearest book is a dictionary, which I likely do not consult frequently enough.

Posted by Duane Smith at February 19, 2005 10:11 AM | Read more on Humor |

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Comments

My outgoing email doesn't work or I'd send this to you that way...

National Security Adviser Emily Powell-Hill took the challenge.
(The Paris Option, by Robert Ludlum)

OT but perhaps of interest: I am adopted. When I saw your picture it was almost like looking into a mirror. Separated at birth? Or perhaps brothers? I am still procrastinating about starting my own blog after I was interrupted by quadruple bypass surgery in November; I've commented a few times as Aristomedes on other blogs. Feel free to email me.

Aristomedes

Posted by: Aristomedes at February 19, 2005 9:00 PM

Aristomedes;

Thanks for the comment on Emily Powell-Hill and the book at hand challenge.

When your email gets going, send me a picture. Look-alike confidents are always of interest. As far as I know, my birth parents raised me and I had no twin.

Duane

Posted by: Duane Smith at February 20, 2005 8:41 AM

Sorry, comments are closed for this post.
Send me an email if it is important.

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