so many sharp eyes and minds out there... you asked: what is a peripundit? what exactly, does not necessarily peripatetic mean? how fortunate for me that you visit so often, and choose to take the time to correspond with me. i truly appreciate your letters. i love words. i love the way they feel in my mouth, their sounds, the way they roll off my tongue. they are such wonderous tools for opening hearts and minds, for healing (i love you)... Twain contrasted them with the comparison of lightening and lightening bugs; one so mighty and powerful and terrible; the other so frail, tiny, insignificant. yet the lightening bug's light is his language, his words. he's always looking for his mate, always calling out a winsome song with the flash of his little light. so i have much fun with words. it was pointed out, that while i may have a license, as a publishing writer, to verb nouns, (like that) and can make up such interesting words, i should explain them... explain them? explain the words i make up? a cherished friend recently quoted Carroll's Humpty Dumpty retort: "Of course you don't (know what i mean)--till i tell you. I meant 'there's a nice knock-down argument for you!'" "But 'glory' doesn't mean 'a nice knock-down argument.'" Alice objected. "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean--neither more nor less." "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things." "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is the master--that's all." if Sir Thomas More can invent utopia, and Dr. Seuss can invent nerd, there is no reason i cannot invent peripundit... the prefix 'peri-' simply means about, around, sort of, kinda, near, and can be used to imply surrounding or enclosing. you can mix and match it, but i advise a bit of care in doing so. a pundit, i'm sure you already know this, is a subject matter authority, a teacher, an expert, a critic, etc. so a peripundit is a sort of expert, a kinda subject matter authority, a kinda teacher, a sort of critic...(smilegoeshere) a peripatetic is someone who, sort of like Aristotle, is an external thinker, an external thought processor, paces around while thinking out loud; or moves around in some other manner (gestures, etc.) while processing thoughts (with spoken words). if there is only the wall, or computer screen to process with, a peripatetic will likely talk to that wall or the computer screen, and gesture wildly while doing so; or get up and pace, and walk from room to room, talking through her/his thinking. (can also simply mean an adherent of Aristotlelian philosophy, but usually refers to external thinking behaviors (which are like Aristotle's)). if you happen to be with a peripatetic, and they happen to be working (they never stop thinking and processing; they even do it in their sleep), then you should just sit back and enjoy the show... smile, nod your head, no input is necessary, but if asked for input, don't try to give an appropriate answer, you should simply ask another question... the peripatetic is not looking for answers from you necessarily, although, if you have one, and give it, and the peripatetic judges it of value, it will be 'seized' upon, added to the mix in the thought processes, and the peripateticism will increase speed (ideas flowing madly), and expand (watch out, it's almost exponential). it's a very exciting routine for the peripatetic, quite stimulating, rather tantalizing, a bit seductive... etc... as an aside, when a peripatetic finds a compatible person with which to do this external processing, she/he is truly over-joyed. that person will be highly prized, well-valued; i have been known to bribe my favorite listeners with gifts of lunch, perfume, etc... (even money, if i'm desparate) because of the circumstances of my life, i was forced to process "internally" for many years. this is an unnatural state for a peripatetic. but see how versatile i am now? i can drive you crazy with external processing, not even noticing the glazed look in your eyes; and i can drive you to paranoia with internal processing so focused that your presence becomes an unobserved phenomenon. so, i said all that to say this: i have read thousands and thousands of books, studies, research findings, etc. i'll read almost anything, and have... makes me a storehouse of miscellany. consequently, i will occasionally pop out a statement that seems obscure: "do you know why geese honk so much while they are flying in a V formation, (presumably travelling south for the winter)?" if i was particularly trapped, or interested, i read as much as i could find on a subject. therefore the reference "peripundit" - a veritable expert of miscellany... but i may know a LOT of miscellany about any given subject, making me a kinda subject matter authority... sort of. just imagine if two peripatetics are processing externally... at the same time... together... now, THAT would be some show... push your browser's back button to return to where you were... buy a kiss! 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