You'll forgive me. It's late and when it gets late my mind begins to wander. In this particular case I think it's stumbled on something vaguely entertaining if nothing else.
[HEADING=2]The Logic[/HEADING]
1) "I" must always be capitalized, whether it appears at the begining of a sentence or not.
2) Proper nouns are the only other category of words that share this trait. Therefore -
3) "I" is a proper noun.
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1) Being a proper noun, "I" is the name of a specific person place or object.
2) "I" is exclusively used to denote people and not places or objects (except when used in personification from the perspective of the place or object). Therefore -
3) "I" is the name of a person
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
1) The word "I" has been used to refer to the speaker at least since the conception of Modern English.
2) Modern English was concieved and fell into popular use around 1550, roughly 460 years ago. Therefore -
3) "I", the person, is dead.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
1) "I"'s name lives on as a word to refer to whomever is speaking.
2) Other men whose names have become words in their own right (Such as Machiavelli or the Earl of Sandwich) completed deeds in their lifetime that justified their name's addition to the English language (such as inventing sandwichs, or being an incredably manipulative bastard). Therefore -
3) "I" completed one or many deeds that cemented his name as synonymous with whomever was speaking at the time (which, in practise, means his name is synonymous with everyone.)
[HEADING=2]The Logical Conclusion[/HEADING]
Around the 16th century there was an incredably hip person named I. His history has been lost but it can be assumed he did something completely outstanding because even centuries later his name is used to refer to one's self. Whether this was added to the language because people at the time thought he was so cool they wanted to be him or because he perfectly represented the common man so much that when people thought of themselves they thought of I, remains a mystery.
[HEADING=2]The Point of the Thread[/HEADING]
Who do you think I was? What deeds did he accomplish to merit his name becoming a word? The goal of this thread is to reveal the hidden history behind a man who has been forgotten to time. With any luck, we'll be able to rewrite the destroyed biography of the mysterious I.
Feel free to make outlandish guesses (He was the first person to beat Chuck Norris in a starring contest ect.) but, if you can, try to base your guesses on observable fact. Make intelligent observations. Deduce things.
For example:
He was probably English - I is an English word after all.
It's possible he refered to himself in the third person - "I want a soda"
He may not have had perfect grammer - "I want a soda"
Have at it! Who was I?
[HEADING=2]The Logic[/HEADING]
1) "I" must always be capitalized, whether it appears at the begining of a sentence or not.
2) Proper nouns are the only other category of words that share this trait. Therefore -
3) "I" is a proper noun.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
1) Being a proper noun, "I" is the name of a specific person place or object.
2) "I" is exclusively used to denote people and not places or objects (except when used in personification from the perspective of the place or object). Therefore -
3) "I" is the name of a person
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
1) The word "I" has been used to refer to the speaker at least since the conception of Modern English.
2) Modern English was concieved and fell into popular use around 1550, roughly 460 years ago. Therefore -
3) "I", the person, is dead.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
1) "I"'s name lives on as a word to refer to whomever is speaking.
2) Other men whose names have become words in their own right (Such as Machiavelli or the Earl of Sandwich) completed deeds in their lifetime that justified their name's addition to the English language (such as inventing sandwichs, or being an incredably manipulative bastard). Therefore -
3) "I" completed one or many deeds that cemented his name as synonymous with whomever was speaking at the time (which, in practise, means his name is synonymous with everyone.)
[HEADING=2]The Logical Conclusion[/HEADING]
Around the 16th century there was an incredably hip person named I. His history has been lost but it can be assumed he did something completely outstanding because even centuries later his name is used to refer to one's self. Whether this was added to the language because people at the time thought he was so cool they wanted to be him or because he perfectly represented the common man so much that when people thought of themselves they thought of I, remains a mystery.
[HEADING=2]The Point of the Thread[/HEADING]
Who do you think I was? What deeds did he accomplish to merit his name becoming a word? The goal of this thread is to reveal the hidden history behind a man who has been forgotten to time. With any luck, we'll be able to rewrite the destroyed biography of the mysterious I.
Feel free to make outlandish guesses (He was the first person to beat Chuck Norris in a starring contest ect.) but, if you can, try to base your guesses on observable fact. Make intelligent observations. Deduce things.
For example:
He was probably English - I is an English word after all.
It's possible he refered to himself in the third person - "I want a soda"
He may not have had perfect grammer - "I want
Have at it! Who was I?
If any of you actually know why "I" is always capitalized you can spoil the fun and tell us ... Just know that doing so will make me sad.
