Agnostic

Agnostic Agnostic Agnostic By Maeve Maddox I thought I knew the meaning of the word agnostic until I read this in an article about the Common Core State Standards: Some teachers were angered, not by his pedagogical vision per se but by the fact that the author of the standards seemed to be telling them how to teach, even when the standards themselves are agnostic about pedagogy. Thomas Huxley (1825-1895) coined the word agnostic to describe his attitude towards God and religion. He felt he lacked sufficient knowledge to determine if God existed or not. He formed the word by adding the prefix a- to the word gnostic. The prefix added the sense of â€Å"without, not, -less.† Gnostic means â€Å"knowledge.† Agnostic means â€Å"lack of knowledge.† The word agnostic can be a noun or an adjective. An agnostic is a person who withholds an opinion as to whether or not God exists. As an adjective, agnostic means â€Å"relating to the belief that the existence of anything beyond and behind material phenomena is unknown and (as far as can be judged) unknowable.† The use of agnostic in a nonreligious context led me to uses I’d been unaware of. Here are some examples: Progressive adherents defend the Common Core State Standards Initiative as culturally and morally agnostic.   I had to [think of] a recipe that would be apple agnostic- it had to work no matter if they were sweet or tart, red or green, tender or crisp. Political agnostics are people who ignore politics and current events. The rescues I knew that did foster homes were mostly purebred rescues, like for collies or Persian [cats], says Wootton,I didnt know of any that just took dogs, or just took catsWe are breed-agnostic we dont discriminate. I am coming round to a sugar-agnostic position. The burgeoning use of the word agnostic in nonreligious contexts may derive from its use in the world of technology. A software program that will run on any computer operating system is said to be â€Å"platform agnostic. In extended use, agnostic can mean â€Å"not committed to a particular point of view, â€Å"non-partisan,† or â€Å"equivocal.† To me, the use of agnostic to refer to apples, sugar, and dogs seems more than a little inapt. And a word that can mean â€Å"equivocal† doesn’t seem the best choice to describe educational standards. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:30 Synonyms for â€Å"Meeting†Use a Dash for Number RangesDouble Possessive

God Bless America! The 8 Weirdest College Majors in the US

God Bless America! The 8 Weirdest College Majors in the US God Bless America! The 8 Weirdest College Majors in the US America has a long tradition as the land of the free and home of the brave. Does this include the freedom to study whatever you darn well like? And the bravery to dedicate yourself to a college course that will confuse your friends and family? You bet it does! To prove it, we’ve found seven of the weirdest college majors currently available in the USA, as well as another that (sadly) is even more unique. 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Booze Studies! If you want to make your own beer, you could always study for a degree in Fermentation Sciences from the Appalachian State University. More into wine than beer? Try Cornell University’s Viticulture and Enology degree instead! 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Masters of Packaging For more than sixty years, Michigan State University has â€Å"been a leader in teaching, research and outreach focused on packaging containers, materials, their functionality and improvement.† We never knew so much thought went into packaging, but we’ll definitely remember next time we can’t get a pickle jar open. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Decision Sciences Unable to pick your major? Why not try a course in Decision Sciences? It’s not actually designed to help you make decisions, but it does cover statistics, information systems and operation management, so it sounds quite useful. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Become a Professional Adventurer! Ok, so a degree in Adventure Education won’t make you an adventurer in the same way Indiana Jones is an adventurer, but it’s definitely a start. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Truth is Out There†¦ Meet my PhD project Do people look at you funny when you say you’ve dedicated your life to discovering aliens? They might take you more seriously if you introduce yourself as a qualified astrobiologist! 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shoeing Horses Horses across the country are glad that farriers are trained professionals, as no one would want to have strips of metal nailed to their feet by an amateur. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mortuary Science If you find busy office environments a little stressful, you might enjoy the peace and solitude of the mortuary instead (as long as you don’t mind all the dead bodies). 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Enigmatology According to its inventor, enigmatology is the study of puzzles. Why haven’t you heard of it until now? Because only one person has ever earned a degree in enigmatology: Will Shortz, who designed his own major program at Indiana University in 1974. This makes Will Shortz the world’s only college-accredited â€Å"puzzle master,† which sounds a bit like the name of a crossword-based superhero. For this reason alone, we salute him.