Doing some reading a short while agoo, I came across a fascinating word which I had never heard of before, pabulum. It was too colorful to ignore and too novel to forget, and although I finished reading the article without looking it up, I decided to go to the dictionary later on.
Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines it as, "1. a suspension or solution of nutrients in a state suitable for absorption; 2. intellectual sustenance; 3. something (as writing or speech) that is insipid, simplistic or bland."
This was definitely a discovery. What an interesting little word! Taken by itself -- a dose of prosaic pabulum -- the word itself may not mean too much. Though I lack an adequate understanding of the ways in which this word can be used, having encountered it only once in context, I have decided to appropriate it for my own purposes. It is not so much the word itself or its "real" meaning that is important for me right now, but my own little concept of pabulum.
Returning for Spring term and preparing to begin another round of classes and activities as a freshman, Dartmouth is still new for me in many ways. Experience will help me develop a truer feel for the way things work, but there is nothing like being green (meaning fresh, not big) when it comes to forming impressions, however nebulous and fleeting they may be.
One such impression that has recently flashed through my mind relates in some way, tenuous though the connection may be, to this idea of pabulum. Let me explain myself.
Fresh off break, I have thought on more than one occasion that Dartmouth is a world unto itself, especially in regards to campus debate and discussion.
Many would agree eagerly if I asserted that there is a great danger for Dartmouth students to become disengaged from the cares and concerns of "the real world." and this may or may not be the case, but I would suggest instead that a more insidious danger is lurking.
It is too easy while we are here to become too attached to our perceptions of the cares and concerns of "the real world." Over-engagement can be worse than disengagement; we can chase chimeras and rally against the monsters of our own construction.
Note in the definition of pabulum given above that the first meaning given relates not only to the nourishing value of the solution, but also to suitability for ingestion. Much of the rhetoric that is bandied about in the policy parlance on campus is effective mainly because it is easy to digest.
The last meaning given in the definition is what really interests me: "Something (as writing or speech) that is insipid, simplistic or bland." Much of what we get away with writing or saying, all of us included, fits quite well into this definition.
We are often frighteningly unaware of the hollow nature of many opinions to which we cling so tenaciously.
The content of this column is a great example of what I am trying to get at; I saw a word once, looked it up in the dictionary, made some confused connections and came to what I believe to be solid conclusions. I could be completely off, but I am unconvinced by that suggestion in this case.
In the preface to his book "What Can We Know? An Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge," Louis Pojman expresses a similar sentiment, writing, "Indeed, I believe that every individual assertion is true, yet given my fallibility, I also believe that some false statements are contained herein."
Contradiction? Maybe. Regardless, my hope is that this has been a relief from the preposterously platitudinous pabulum "that flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation devoutly to be wish'd."
