The opalescence [literally, opal-like] of some words just can't be left without comment. Ostracism is one of them. Ostracism is from the Greek ostrakízein which my Random House Webster's also tells me is akin to óstreion: oyster, shell. Oysters indeed have shells but are famous for their practice of depositing aragonite around irritating foreign bodies that come within their shell, resulting in a lustrous, finely coloured -- one may say opalescent -- orb valued as a gem. Of course, oysters are also good breaded and fried or raw on the half shell. Lewis Carroll wrote a poem about oysters in which the oysters' role was to "come along for the ride" (but never to return) -- The Walras and the Carpenter. Here's your essay assignment, worth 60 points, topic: compare and contrast "marginal irritation" and the "oyster theory of value". regards, Tom Walker http://www.vcn.bc.ca/timework/covenant.htm
