Today’s WOTD – 29 August 2012

ignotum per ignotius 

[ɪɡˈnəʊtʊm pər ɪɡˈnəʊtɪʊs]

— noun (latin)

1. An attempt to explain something obscure in terms of something else which is even more obscure.

2. (logic) A type of fallacious argument in which one attempts to prove something unknown by relying upon an assumption that is also unknown.

[literally: the unknown by means of the more unknown]

For example (from Wikipedia):

“The oven felt hot because of Fourier’s Law.” It is unlikely that a person unfamiliar with the hotness of ovens would be illuminated by a reference to the fundamental laws of physics. Of course, such a person might exist in theory, so ignotum per ignotius is not strictly a logical fallacy; it is just a criticism of an argument on rhetorical grounds, stating that such an argument is not useful in a particular context.

Today’s aphorism

‘quidquid Latine dictum sit altum videtur‘

Latin phrase which translates as, ‘whatever is said in Latin sounds profound‘ … A fairly recent phrase mocking those who use latin phrases so that they sound more intelligent.

On this day

29 August 29AD – John the Baptist beheaded.

29 August 1991 – the Supreme Soviet of the USSR suspends the Communist Party. The Soviet Union was formally dissolved on 26 December 1991.

29 August 2001 – death of Graeme ‘Shirley’ Strachan, in a helicopter crash near Maroochydore, Queensland. Lead singer of Australian band, Skyhooks.

29 August 2005 – Hurricane Katrina strikes southeastern United States with wind speeds reaching 280km/h. New Orleans is one of the worst hit areas. At least 1,836 people died in the storm and subsequent flooding.