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miǎománg

miǎománg (miǎo·máng {(as if lost on or in a) vast expanse (of water) → [distant; indistinct; vague | tiny; insignificant]} · {vast; borderless (as an expanse of water); indistinct} → [distant and indistinct; remote and vague | uncertain] 渺茫 渺/淼茫) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[Notes: Tap/click on a Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to reveal its “flashcard”; tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to hide the “flashcard”. 📖 📄 📘 icons mean 📖 Reveal All, 📄 Reveal Advanced, and 📘 Reveal None re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

The Shēngmìng Láizì Chuàngzào Ma? ((Shēngmìng Life 生命) (Lái·zì Came · From 来自 來自) (Chuàng·zào Initiating · {Making, Creating} → [Creating] 创造 創造) (Ma [? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)? → [Was Life Created? (lc)]) (Was Life Created? (lc)) brochure and the Shēngmìng de Qǐyuán—Zhíde Sīkǎo de Wǔ Ge Wèntí ((Shēngmìng Life 生命) (de ’s 的) (Qǐ·yuán {Rising → [Starting]} · Source → [Origin] 起源/原)—(Zhí·de Worth · Getting → [Worth] 值得) (Sī·kǎo {Thinking About} · Examining 思考) (de ’s 的) (Wǔ Five 五) (Ge [mw] 个 個/个) (Wèn·tí Asking · Subjects → [Questions] 问题 問題) → [The Origin of Life—Five Questions Worth Asking (lf)]) (The Origin of Life—Five Questions Worth Asking (lf)) brochure were originally published back in 2010, but relatively recently, the English version of the Was Life Created? brochure was updated to the December 2022 Printing, and the Mandarin version of it was updated to the February 2023 Printing. Also, the Was Life Created? brochure and the Origin of Life brochure are now in the Teaching Toolbox section in the JW Library app. So, it would be good to consider some of the expressions used in the Mandarin versions of these publications that can be so helpful when discussing whether life was created.

Compounding Improbabilities

This week’s MEotW, “miǎománg (miǎo·máng {(as if lost on or in a) vast expanse (of water) → [distant and indistinct; vague | tiny; insignificant]} · {vast; borderless (as an expanse of water); indistinct} → [distant and indistinct; remote and vague | uncertain] 渺茫 渺/淼茫)”, occurs a couple of times in the QUESTION 1 section of the Origin of Life brochure, entitled, in English, “How Did Life Begin?”. For example, it occurs in the final Fact: item mentioned in the box at the end of the section:

English:

Fact: Protein and RNA molecules must work together for a cell to survive. Scientists admit that it is highly unlikely that RNA formed by chance. The odds against even one protein forming by chance are astronomical. It is exceedingly improbable that RNA and proteins should form by chance in the same place at the same time and be able to work together.

Mandarin (WOL, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus):

📖 📄 📘 Shìshí (Shì·shí Matter · {Being Solid} → [Fact] 事实 事實): Xìbāo (Xì·bāo tiny · womb → [cell] 细胞 細胞) yào (if 要) néng ({is to be able} 能) cúnhuó (cún·huó {to survive} · {to live} → [to survive] 存活), dànbái‐zhì ((dàn·bái egg · white → [protein] 蛋白)‐(zhì substance 质 質) → [protein]) hé ({(together) with} → [and] 和 和/龢) RNA fēnzǐ (fēn·zǐ {divided (off)} · {small and hard things} → [molecules] 分子) bìxū (must 必须 必須) hézuò (hé·zuò {closing → [joining]} · do → [work together] 合作). Kēxué‐jiā ((Kē·xué {branches of study} · learning → [science] 科学 科學)‐(jiā -ists 家) → [scientists]) chéngrèn (chéng·rèn undertake · {to recognize} → [admit] 承认 承認) RNA shì (is 是) jí (extremely 极 極) bù (not 不) kěnéng (kě·néng maybe · {being able} → [possibly] 可能) pèngqiǎo (pèng·qiǎo {having bumped into} · {being coincidental} → [by chance] 碰巧) chǎnshēng (chǎn·shēng {given birth to → [produced]} · {given birth to → [caused to exist]} → [brought into being] 产生 產生) de ({’s (thing)} 的), yí (one 一) ge ([mw] 个 個/个) dànbái‐zhì ((dàn·bái egg · white → [protein] 蛋白)‐(zhì substance 质 質) → [protein]) pèngqiǎo (pèng·qiǎo {having bumped into} · {being coincidental} → [by chance] 碰巧) chǎnshēng (chǎn·shēng {being given birth to → [being produced]} · {being given birth to → [being caused to exist]} → [being brought into being] 产生 產生) de (’s 的) kěnéng‐xìng ((kě·néng {being able} · {to be able to be} → [being probable] 可能)‐(xìng nature → [property] 性) → [probability]) yě (also 也) wēihū‐qí‐wēi ((wēi·hū {is tiny} · {with regard to} 微乎)‐(qí its 其)‐(wēi {being tiny} 微) → [is the tiniest of tiny]), ér (and 而) RNA hé ({(together) with} → [and] 和 和/龢) dànbái‐zhì ((dàn·bái egg · white → [protein] 蛋白)‐(zhì substances 质 質) → [proteins]) yào ({being supposed} 要) tóngshí (tóng·shí {(at the) same} · {(particular) time} 同时 同時) tóngdì (tóng·dì {(at the) same} · {ground → [place]} 同地) chǎnshēng (chǎn·shēng {to be given birth to → [to be produced]} · {to be given birth to → [to be caused to exist]} → [to be brought into being] 产生 產生) bìngqiě (bìng·qiě equally · also 并且 並且) néng ({to be able} 能) hùxiāng ({with each other} 互相) hézuò (hé·zuò {closing → [joining]} · {to do} → [to work together] 合作), jīhuì (opportunity → [chance] 机会 機會) jiù (then 就) gèngjiā (gèng·jiā {even more} · {adding → [additionally]} 更加) miǎománg (miǎo·máng {(is as if lost on or in a) vast expanse (of water) → [is distant and indistinct]} · {is borderless (as an expanse of water)} → [is remote and vague] 渺茫 渺/淼茫).

Looking at the morphemes in “miǎománg (miǎo·máng {(as if lost on or in a) vast expanse (of water) → [distant and indistinct; vague | tiny; insignificant]} · {vast; borderless (as an expanse of water); indistinct} → [distant and indistinct; remote and vague | uncertain] 渺茫 渺/淼茫)”, the first one seems to literally mean “vast expanse (of water)”, with an implied meaning of “as if lost on or in a vast expanse of water”. This can lead to effective meanings such as “distant and indistinct; vague” and “tiny; insignificant”. As for the second morpheme, it means “vast; borderless (as an expanse of water); indistinct”—again, an expanse of water is implied. Taken together, the morphemes in “miǎománg (miǎo·máng {(as if lost on or in a) vast expanse (of water) → [distant and indistinct; vague | tiny; insignificant]} · {vast; borderless (as an expanse of water); indistinct} → [distant and indistinct; remote and vague | uncertain] 渺茫 渺/淼茫)” on a certain level of literalness mean “as if lost on or in a vast, borderless expanse of water”, and effectively mean “distant and indistinct; remote and vague” or “uncertain”.

Isn’t It Ironic?

So, while at first glance, “miǎománg (miǎo·máng {(as if lost on or in a) vast expanse (of water) → [distant and indistinct; vague | tiny; insignificant]} · {vast; borderless (as an expanse of water); indistinct} → [distant and indistinct; remote and vague | uncertain] 渺茫 渺/淼茫)” may seem to directly mean something like “vast (and obvious) like an expanse of water”, it’s actually used to mean just about the opposite. Rather than being like, “Look! I found this great, big ocean! Easy!”, it’s more like, “Oh, no! I have to find a specific thing, but it’s somewhere on/in this vast, boundless ocean! Is that really even possible?”

Similarly, sort of, the English word “inflammable” may seem at first to mean “not catching fire easily”, but it actually means the opposite. Also, while “infinitesimal” may have come from the same Latin word that “infinite” came from, “infinitesimal” and “infinite” have almost opposite meanings.

Accuarate, and Also Illustrative

While the wording of “exceedingly improbable” in the above-quoted section of the English Origin of Life brochure is technically correct, the morphemes in “miǎománg (miǎo·máng {(as if lost on or in a) vast expanse (of water) → [distant and indistinct; vague | tiny; insignificant]} · {vast; borderless (as an expanse of water); indistinct} → [distant and indistinct; remote and vague | uncertain] 渺茫 渺/淼茫)” additionally provide an illustration that can help us comprehend the reality, the scale, of what is being discussed.

NASA photo of the Pacific Ocean, as seen from space

NASA photo of the Pacific Ocean, as seen from space (Talk about vast—the Pacific Ocean takes up about a third of the earth’s surface! It’s also the deepest of the earth’s oceans.)

Imagine if you had to find a particular drop of water in the Pacific Ocean. Or, imagine if even something as “big” as your iPhone or other smartphone fell out of a plane that was crossing the Pacific Ocean. How big is the likelihood that you could find it the way evolution supposedly functions—completely by chance, without the application of any intelligence? While it’s theoretically not totally impossible that you could do so, would you bet your life on it? Would you use that vague, insignificant possibility as “just” the basis of your whole way of thinking about life and the world? The use of “miǎománg (miǎo·máng {(as if lost on or in a) vast expanse (of water) → [distant and indistinct; vague | tiny; insignificant]} · {vast; borderless (as an expanse of water); indistinct} → [distant and indistinct; remote and vague | uncertain] 渺茫 渺/淼茫)” in the above-quoted section of the Mandarin Origin of Life brochure expresses to us that that is in effect what those who believe in evolution are doing.—John 3:36; 17:3; Proverbs 9:10.

For convenience:

The direct link for the current-generation Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource for the Origin of Life brochure is:

The short link for Chinese field language-learning links for the Origin of Life brochure is:

More Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) and Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web material based on the Mandarin Origin of Life brochure will be made available in the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource as time allows.

Categories
Current Events Science

jùfēng

jùfēng (jù·fēng cyclone; hurricane; typhoon · wind → [hurricane; typhoon] 飓风 颶風) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

During the week preceding the date of this post, Hurricane Ian hit the USA. As NBC News reported on the afternoon of Oct. 1, 2022:

The death toll from Hurricane Ian rose Saturday to more than 77 as one of strongest and costliest storms to ever hit the U.S. pushed northward from the Carolinas leaving in its wake a trifecta of misery—dangerous flooding, power outages and massive destruction.

At the time of this writing, jw.org was featuring the related article “Extreme Weather—Can the Bible Help You to Cope?”. The Mandarin version of this article uses this week’s MEotW, “jùfēng (jù·fēng cyclone; hurricane; typhoon · wind → [hurricane; typhoon] 飓风 颶風)”, to translate the English word “hurricane”.

Note that while one who is familiar with the Mandarin expression “dàfēng (dà·fēng {big → [strong]} · wind [→ [fresh gale]] 大风 大風)” (literally, “big wind”) might assume that the first morpheme in “jùfēng (jù·fēng cyclone; hurricane; typhoon · wind → [hurricane; typhoon] 飓风 颶風)” is the same as the first morpheme (meaning “huge; gigantic”) in “jùdà (jù·dà huge; gigantic · big 巨大)”, actually, the first morpheme in “jùfēng (jù·fēng cyclone; hurricane; typhoon · wind → [hurricane; typhoon] 飓风 颶風)” is a different one that specifically means “cyclone; hurricane; typhoon”.

A Tropical Cyclone by Any Other Name…

The English jw.org article mentioned above also mentions hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones. The corresponding expressions used in the Mandarin version are, respectively, “jùfēng (jù·fēng hurricane · winds → [hurricanes] 飓风 颶風)”, “táifēng (tái·fēng typhoon · winds → [typhoons] 台风 颱風)”, and “qìxuán (qì·xuán air · circlings → [cyclones] 气旋 氣旋)”. What though, are the differences between hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones?

The US government’s National Ocean Service explains it like this:

The only difference between a hurricane and a typhoon is the location where the storm occurs.

…

Hurricanes and typhoons are the same weather phenomenon: tropical cyclones. A tropical cyclone is a generic term used by meteorologists to describe a rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms that originates over tropical or subtropical waters and has closed, low-level circulation.

The weakest tropical cyclones are called tropical depressions. If a depression intensifies such that its maximum sustained winds reach 39 miles per hour, the tropical cyclone becomes a tropical storm. Once a tropical cyclone reaches maximum sustained winds of 74 miles per hour or higher, it is then classified as a hurricane, typhoon, or tropical cyclone, depending upon where the storm originates in the world. In the North Atlantic, central North Pacific, and eastern North Pacific, the term hurricane is used. The same type of disturbance in the Northwest Pacific is called a typhoon. Meanwhile, in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean, the generic term tropical cyclone is used, regardless of the strength of the wind associated with the weather system.

Structure

Some might also find the following information interesting, on the structure and behaviour of tropical cyclones like hurricanes, etc.:

The main parts of a tropical cyclone are the rainbands, the eye, and the eyewall. Air spirals in toward the center in a counter-clockwise pattern in the northern hemisphere (clockwise in the southern hemisphere), and out the top in the opposite direction.

In the very center of the storm, air sinks, forming an “eye” that is mostly cloud-free.

Supercharged by Climate Change

Regarding hurricanes and similar storms, one thing that may be worthwhile to bring up in the field is that they are being made more destructive and difficult to predict by human-caused climate change.

An article on NASA’s website summarizes the situation and explains the basic mechanism:

Due to global warming, global climate models predict hurricanes will likely cause more intense rainfall and have an increased coastal flood risk due to higher storm surge caused by rising seas. Additionally, the global frequency of storms may decrease or remain unchanged, but hurricanes that form are more likely to become intense.

As surface temperatures rise, more liquid water evaporates from the land and ocean. Evaporation adds moisture to the air. How much water vapor the air can hold is based on its temperature. Warmer air temperatures can hold more water vapor. The increased moisture in the air leads to more intense rainfall, especially during extreme events.

In a hurricane, spiraling winds draw moist air toward the center, fueling the towering thunderstorms that surround it. As the air continues to warm due to climate change, hurricanes can hold more water vapor, producing more intense rainfall rates in a storm.

Moreover, …most models show that climate change brings a slight increase in hurricane wind intensity. This change is likely related to warming ocean temperatures and more moisture in the air, both of which fuel hurricanes.

Another article, on the Yale Climate Connections website, discusses a phenomenon called rapid intensification:

Rapid intensification, defined as an increase of wind speed of at least 35 mph in 24 hours, has recently garnered a lot of attention…

…human-caused warming significantly increases extreme tropical cyclone intensification rates…

Rapid intensification is one of the least well-predicted tropical cyclone processes and also one of the most dangerous, because storms that intensify quickly tend to catch people off guard.

By the way, the Mandarin expression currently used on jw.org to translate “climate change” is “qìhòu (qì·hòu {air → [weather]} · conditions → [climate] 气候 氣候) biànhuà (biàn·huà changing · transforming 变化 變化)”.