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[Frumple]

Can anyone explain to me what the title of P.K.Dick's book: 'A Scanner Darkly' means or refers to? It has always looked to me like a random collection of words. Even the structure doesn't seem particularly English.

"through a mirror, darkly", is apparently a biblical verse thing. Corinthians something or other. It's, uh. Likely to be a reference. Plus there's like a small fuckton of later media that plays with the mirror (or whatever) darkly line it could also be referencing.

[Arx]

"For now we see [as though?] through a [mirror/glass/lens], [darkly/dimly/unclearly]" ~ horrifying amalgamation of translations of the Greek "βλέπομεν γὰρ ἄρτι δι' ἐσόπτρου ἐν αἰνίγματι".

"A Scanner Darkly" doesn't look English because it omits the whole first part of the sentence, and then the conjoined second sentence. Frumple's got the right of it.

[Il Palazzo]

That makes (finally) some sense. Ta.

[Naturegirl1999]

I'm curious, can fly larvae be confined to react to certain words?

[Trekkin]

I'm curious, can fly larvae be confined to react to certain words?

In general, probably not. Flies do have memory, even as larvae, but many (but not all) fly species can't hear as adults, and I can't think of a compelling reason for them to have evolved to hear only when they're less mobile and thus less able to do anything about what they hear.

I'll look more later, but thus far I haven't found any indication that maggots can respond to sound the way they can odor and light, so I'm inclined to think a priori that they can't be trained to respond to noises of any kind.

[Naturegirl1999]

What about the adults? I remember reading that adult flies can hear with their antennae

[Frumple]

I mean... if they can respond to touch, they can respond to sound. You'd just have to make it loud enough.

[Kagus]

Well I've read that flies can't hear without their wings, so there's that too.

Just like how grasshoppers hear with their legs.

[Trekkin]

I mean... if they can respond to touch, they can respond to sound. You'd just have to make it loud enough.

They may not be able to distinguish tone via touch, though. If we're trying to train them to respond to words, as per the original question, that's an important distinction.

[Frumple]

I mean, what is tone but variations in vibration. You might need to make new words and they might be able to knock someone off their feet, but it's probably doable with a sufficient commitment to excess.

[scriver]

Cat goes on kitchen desk
Groundquakespeak: NO U
Cat is knocked if desk, stunned

[dragdeler]

-

[scriver]

English question!

So. Guitar hero. The term, I'm assuming, was not invented by the franchise. In English, is it used pretty much in the same way as, for example, "movie star"? Do you use the same kind of phrasing for other instruments or music? Is it ever used in the same convention as one says "he is my hero"?

Just some random questions that popped into my head when my phone Swedish autocorrect didn't like "guitar hero" and I had to translate it and realise I have never heard anyone say "gitarrhjälte" (as opposed to phrases like movie star or pop/rock star that has travelled over).

[Egan_BW]

Never heard it used to refer to anything other than the game.

[Naturegirl1999]

I thought guitar hero was just the name of the franchise, I never thought of it other than the Guitar Hero games