The Language Perfectionist: Choosers Can't Be Beggars

By Don Hauptman

What's wrong with the following two sentences?

1. "This national obsession with food begs the question, are the Chinese concerned with eating healthily?"

2. "The article also begs an equally rhetorical but slightly more disturbing question: How many new cures are we losing?"

These examples presume that "This begs the question" is equivalent to "This raises the question." It is not. "Begging the question" is circular reasoning - a form of logical fallacy that assumes as fact something that needs to be proven.

The expression is used correctly in this sentence: "Jim says it's true because it's in the Bible, but that argument begs the question of whether the Bible is true."

Today's lesson: Don't say "that begs the question" when you mean raises or prompts or brings up a specific question.

[Ed Note: Don Hauptman, a direct-response copywriter for more than 30 years, may be best known for the space ads he wrote with the classic headline "Speak Spanish Like a Diplomat!" He also writes books and articles on language and wordplay.]

It's Fun to Know: Early Risers in History

Ben Franklin, ETR's patron saint, wasn't the only historical figure who believed in waking up early. Levi Hutchins of New Hampshire was so eager to be up and at 'em by 4:00 a.m. that he invented the first modern mechanical alarm clock in 1787. Leonardo da Vinci used an alarm clock hundreds of years before that. His version consisted of a tube that slowly dripped water into a receptacle. When it was full, a system of levers would raise da Vinci's feet in the air to rouse him.

(Source: That's a Fact, Jack!)

Word to the Wise: Mimetic

"Mimetic" (mim-ET-IK) - from the Greek for a kind of drama - means imitative or given to mimicry.

Example (as used by Irene Maxine Pepperberg in The Alex Studies): "I was not the only scientist to reason that the vocal ability of mimetic birds, coupled with their considerable intelligence, should enable them to learn to communicate with humans using speechlike sounds."

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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2262, 01-26-08], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

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