Zyzzyva

Zyzzyva is the last word in most of the American dictionaries. Zyzzyva is a South American weevil  discovered by Thomas Lincoln Casey Jr, an entomologist in Brazil in 1922. It is believed that he named the weevil Zyzzyva as a joke so it would show up at the end of most related guides and manuals.  It is very destructive to plants, primarily palms.

Here is a picture:

Thanks to wikipedia for the picture.

Oh - it makes me itch!!!

Metacognition

Metacognition (noun), refers to a higher level of thinking.  It is when one thinks about how they think and selects certain strategies for learning and problem solving.  It is the ability to actively monitor and control the thinking process.  

John Flavell, a developmental psychologist was one of the first to share his research on the theory of metacognition in 1976.   Most of his work was focused on the cognitive development of children.  

Here are some examples of metacognition from the psychologyandsociety.com website: 

• When a person learns what things help them to remember facts, names and events
• When a person becomes aware of his/her own bias in judging others
• When a person learns about their own learning style

Understanding your own style of learning, how you think about yourself and others and how you memorize is a form of metacognition. When you understand how you think about yourself and others you will take your cognitive ability to a new level.

  "A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices." (William James)

"Specific knowledge will not be as important to tomorrows people as the ability to learn and make sense of new information."   (D  Gough, 1991)

"To make an individual metacognitively aware is to ensure that the individual has learned how to learn."   (Garner), 1988 

Limerick

A Limerick is a short, often humorous poem made of up of five lines with a characteristic rhythm.  The word is derived from the Irish town of Limerick and reportedly started as a pub song or chorus. This form of poetry was made popular by Edward Lear in the 19th century.  

My father would often recite limerick style poetry to me as a child, often times they were created by him in the moment.  He taught me to love all poetry, but especially the funny and clever limerick.  

Here are a few by Edward Lear

There was an Old Man who supposed,
That the street door was partially closed;
But some very large rats,
Ate his coats and his hats,
While that futile old gentleman dozed.

There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, 'It is just as I feared!
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!’

Here are a few more: 

Published in 1902 in the Princeton Tiger: 

There once was a man from Nantucket

Who kept all his cash in a bucket.

But his daughter, named Nan, 

Ran away with a man

And as for the bucket, Nantucket. 

By John Updike

There was an old poop from Poughkeepsie,

Who tended, at night, to be tipsy.

Said he, “my last steps

Aren’t propelled by just Schweppes

That peppy old poop from Poughkeepsie.

These are a lot of fun to read and write.  Please share if you have a favorite or if you would like to write one!