A Quantitative Approach to Interestingness

Authors

A. Ross Eckler

Abstract

In "Good Grief!" in the November 1973 Word Ways, Merlin X. Houdini IV (a pseudonym of Dmitri Borgmann) stated his Fundamental Axiom of Logology: "All words and all names tantalize with their interest, if you but perceive them correctly". He illustrated this with an analysis of the names of the 15 largest US cities. He repeated this claim under his own name in "The Keystone of Logology" in February 1977, illustrating it with twenty words from the 1974 Merriam-Webster Pocket Dictionary.

Recommended Citation

Eckler, A. Ross (2005) "A Quantitative Approach to Interestingness," Word Ways: Vol. 38 : Iss. 1 , Article 13.
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/wordways/vol38/iss1/13