Dice and Splices

What is it like? It's like trying to measure the location and trajectory of an electron.

An experiment was done. It attempted to track an electron. However, the device that measured the electron interfered with it and changed its trajectory. Consequently, the attempt to measure the electron made it unmeasurable.

What it really is is emotions mixed with insecurity mixed with a lack of focus mixed with oversensitivity mixed with an obtuse manner. You can't untangle that. You cannot untangle it.

It's like trying to count the sum of a set of dice that re-roll themselves every time you look at them: there are real numbers and real sums, but there is no chance of counting it. Even more fascinating is that the dice take offense at not being counted.


In other news, grammar is logical and relatively simple. More specifically, punctuation is never used to indicate "natural" pauses. Rather, punctuation is used to show the structure of thoughts.

A quick lesson: comma splices.

Splice (2009)

The movie has a freaky synopsis. Moral of the story: don't splice things.

A comma splice is where two complete thoughts are combined with a comma but without a conjunction.

E.g.: I went to the store, I bought a lot of soda.

There are a lot of ways to fix this.

• Include a conjunction: I went to the store, and I bought a lot of soda.
• Use a period if you feel the thoughts should be separate: I went to the store. I bought a lot of soda.
• Use a semicolon if you feel the thoughts should be combined without a conjunction: I went to the store; I bought a lot of soda.
• Use a conjunction and remove the second "I": I went to the store and bought a lot of soda.

Another common mistake is putting a comma in a long sentence that feels like it should be two independent clauses.

E.g.: I thought about all the pizza I should be sharing with my beloved friends, and decided that they could just eat carrots and celery.

 The correct form would be

I thought about all the pizza I should be sharing with my beloved friends and decided that they could just eat carrots and celery.

All I took out was the comma, but here's why:
If you simplify the sentence, you're left with

I thought and decided.

It makes no sense to write

I thought, and decided.

 Even though the original sentence is long with all its modifiers, the concept is still I thought and decided.

As much as we like to place punctuation wherever it feels good, that paradigm is as noble with grammar as it is in any other context of life.
Regrettably, there are a bunch of grammar/punctuation rules. Even more regrettably, they make logical sense.