David Zapatka
Reader Lettie Harrald writes, “I just saw your column in the latest Splash about Gerunds and immediately thought about J.A. Jance’s recent blog also talking about Gerunds, among other things. I am taking the liberty of forwarding said article to you. You need to read through quite a lot of other stuff first before you get to the gerunds and other words. It’s way too confusing for my pea brain, but you’ll no doubt like it! BTW, J.A. Jance is a well-known author of over 50 books, mysteries with four different series. She’s about 80 years old.”—Lettie Harrald (Cottonwood)
Thank you, Lettie. I appreciate your contribution.
While reading Self-Culture in the Light of the Ancient Wisdom by I.K. Taimni in one of my book-reading groups, I read, “One of these functions, as we have seen, is the capacity to know spiritual truths directly without going through the ratiocinative processes of the intellect.”
Ratiocinative—ra-ti-o-ci-na-tiv; ra-shē-ä adjective, Ratiocination—ra-ti-o-ci-na-tion; ra-shē-ä noun 1: the process of exact thinking, reasoning 2: a reasoned train of thought
Origin and Etymology—originates from the Latin word “ratiocinari,” which means “to reckon” or “to calculate,” and is derived from “ratio” meaning “reason,” “ratiocinative” means relating to or characterized by logical reasoning or calculation.
First Known Use—1532
Edgar Allan Poe is said to have called the 1841 story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” his first “tale of ratiocination.” Many today agree with his assessment and consider that Poe classic to be literature’s first detective story. Poe didn’t actually use ratiocination in “Rue Morgue,” but the term does appear three times in its 1842 sequel, “The Mystery of Marie Roget.” In “Marie Roget,” the author proved his reasoning ability. The second tale was based on an actual murder, and as the case unfolded after the publication of Poe’s work, it became clear that his fictional detective had done an amazing job of reasoning through the crime.
Sherlock Holmes was the ultimate logical reasoner in pop culture until Mr. Spock came along. When the first of the Sherlock Holmes films starring Robert Downey Jr. was released, a form of ratiocination was used in several of the reviews.
Ratiocination used in a sentence:
As an expert in ratiocination, the detective Sherlock Holmes has few rivals.
Ratiocination used on the web:
The underground man is someone who is cursed with ratiocination.—Sean Illing, Vox, 9 Dec. 2024
No ratiocination similar to Parker’s point system.—WIRED, 23 Feb. 2023
Outside of pure math our powers of ratiocination are overwhelmed by subjective decisions along the chain of propositions.—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 25 Apr. 2013
Once again, using the obtuse ratiocination of her characters, DeWitt aims at nothing less than expanding readerly consciousness, gesturing toward a world of untapped possibility freed from convention.—Charles Arrowsmith, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2022
Please submit your ratiocinative reasoning experiences or any word you may like to share, along with your insights and comments, to [email protected].