On The Professor and the Madman

I enjoyed reading The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester. At first, I figured it was going to be very boring and extremely dry, but in fact, it proved to be quite an enjoyable read! Right from the very beginning I was hooked! Toward the end of the preface Governor of the asylum says "Dr. Minor is most certainly here. But he is an inmate" (xiii). I will admit that I was not expecting this! This brief preface drew me into the book and piqued my interest. Once I continued into chapter one, my interest was kept. I enjoyed reading about Minor's background and why he was in the asylum. I think, for me, the best part of the book was reading about Minor. I found him to be such an interesting individual. I think it was amazing how he wrote so much for the Oxford English Dictionary, yet he was considered insane. One particular area that I found fascinating to read about was the ward notes on Dr. Minor. On page 124, there are notes showing Minor's insane claims. June 1875: "The doctor is convinced that intruders manage to get in--from under the floor, or through the windows..." It is so odd to see that someone so brilliant was also clinically insane.

Another aspect of the book that I enjoyed was the fact that it provided details about word origins and how the dictionary was written. With word origins, I thought it was interesting that the word "bedlam" came from the Bethlehem Hospital for the Insane (18). Again, on page 28, there is a word origin for "protagonist". The book showed how this word would appear in the dictionary. There would be the spelling, etymology, and pronunciation of the word. Next, there are a string of six supporting quotations. Then, the quotations are divided under two headings. And then the process continues on. What I found interesting about this part of the book was that I have never considered how a dictionary was put together. This book provided good information on the processes that were involved in the production of the book. On page 151, there is an entire section about how words were properly defined. It was such an involved process. First words had to be defined according to the class of things that it belonged to. Then the word had to be differentiated from other members of that class, etc... These sections of the book provided fascinating information about the process of putting the book together.

Overall, I really did enjoy this book. I found the lives of both Murray and Minor to be quite interesting! It was also fascinating to see how such a huge book was put together. It was an involved process that took years and years to complete. It was not an overnight event. I probably would never have any need to teach this book, but I think that it provided good information about something that students in English classes use often-the dictionary.

Also, I read and commented on an article about modeling in teaching and social networking. It is a really good post by Bud the Teacher that I recommend you all read. One important item said by Bud was that we, as teachers, should be the same person in real life that we are online.