Re: Off topic: nomen et omen [was Any way to use Xywrite as an E-mail

[cld@xxxxxxxx (Carl Distefano)]

Reply to note from "Robert Holmgren"  Tue, 4
Mar 2003 17:33:28 -0500

> Is there something surprising about this? Isn't _every_
> surname derived from personal associations?

Well, of course, back when people were named *after* their
occupations, this sort of thing was unremarkable. But today, names
being an accident of birth, we take notice when the calling fits the
name. The question that hangs over these examples is: Was the
outcome predestined? Does the name we get at birth seal our fate,
or, more subtly, can it influence the choices we make along the way?
Isolated examples can be entertaining, but they don't answer the
question. One doctor named Cure is a curiosity. A large number of
doctors, nurses, candy-stripers, etc., named Cure starts to get
interesting, especially if they come from different families. Has
this kind of study been done, I wonder?

And what if the person filling the syringe is called Dr. Curare?
Do you roll up your sleeve, or run out for a second opinion?

--
Carl Distefano
cld@xxxxxxxx
http://users.datarealm.com/xywwweb/