In my opinion, one of the most important “what if” questions ever asked was posed in the eighth century BC by an anonymous Greek scribe looking for ways to improve the reading process.
A little background: at that time, the Greek alphabet — like previous alphabets such as the Phoenician (on which the Greek one was based) and the Hebrew — consisted only of consonants, no vowels. This writing system made reading a slow and imprecise process. To understand a word, the reader had to guess the missing vowel sounds between consonants to correctly grasp the meaning.
For example, a modern English equivalent might be, what does this two-consonant word stand for?
Does it stand for “bad”? How about “bed,” “bid,” “bod,” “bud,” or even “abide”? As with most other cognitive activities, context and experience would be the guides to interpretation.
Much of creative thinking involves looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different. And that’s what this innovative scribe did. As he pondered the alphabet before him, the “what if” question he must have asked himself was,
“What if I looked at these symbols in a different way, and let some of the letters represent the vowels we actually speak rather than just consonants? What would be possible?”
The eventual result was the creation of seven written vowels (alpha, epsilon, eta, iota, omicron, upsilon, and omega, shown above). By combining these with existing consonants, he — and the other scribes of the period who contributed to and adopted this convention —
This is a truly powerful invention! A fully phonetic alphabet — that is, one capable of expressing all the spoken sounds in a language — enabled writers to translate spoken words into written words, and readers to do the opposite. The fact that children could easily learn this new system certainly contributed to its success. Thus, with the addition of vowels, these early Greeks both simplified and gave new power to writing and reading. Considering the importance of language to our thinking processes, it is difficult to understate the significance of this development.
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Think vowels are amazing, but there's something even better? I'd love to hear your nomination for the greatest "What If?" question ever asked.
Super post Roger!
"The fact that children could easily learn this new system certainly contributed to its success."
I can still hear my Hebrew teacher telling us with a smile on his lips, "I don't know why you are having such a hard time learning Hebrew, there are 8 year old boys in girls in Israel that understand this perfectly."
Vowels are without a doubt one amazing result of "what if" thinking!
Thanks for expanding the love of words and the conversations they give birth to!
Keep creating,
Mike
Posted by: Michael Wagner | 19 February 2007 at 09:32 AM
What if? = Imagine
Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
Posted by: Mr. Zeus | 19 February 2007 at 02:25 PM
Mike: Thanks for the comment. I don't imagine your Hebrew instructor's comment made you feel any better!
Mr. Zeus: For your information: the picture of the fool used in the banner of this blog (and also on the Creative Whack Pack) was drawn the day after John Lennon was murdered in December, 1980.
Posted by: Roger von Oech | 19 February 2007 at 02:34 PM
t mst hv bn rll dffclt t ndrstnd wrtng wtht vwls. dnt thnk blggng wd hv bn pssbl!
Posted by: Mark McGuinness | 20 February 2007 at 01:09 AM
What if the Alpha and Omega had stayed dead? Would Saul have become Paul?
Posted by: Jim Ley | 20 February 2007 at 08:11 PM
"What if I go to Moscow to study?" Lomonosov (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lomonosov)
[offtopic]
Roger,
I sent a letter to ideas@ several days ago and I am afraid it did not make it through spam-filter. I would be grateful if you could let me know what you think about it.
[/offtopic]
Posted by: Pavel Sokolov | 20 February 2007 at 11:33 PM
Thanks for the question Roger.
What if we are spiritual beings seeking human experiences, not human beings seeking spiritual experiences?
Posted by: Tom Haskins | 21 February 2007 at 05:10 AM
Roger HERE IS THE QUESTION
(you've probably done research on this, already...)
WHY IS IT THAT "A CREATIVE PERSON" OFTEN LOOKS AT THE SAME OBJECT, INFORMATION, OR SITUATION AND SEES/IMAGINES SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN "THE NORM"?
is it because he or she is unable to one degree or another, to be "normal"?
is it psychology? (programming) or physical brain difference (hardware) or what?
since apparently each child in each culture must learn "the norms".... is the creative person unable, for some reason, to do so... or is rebellious and non-conformist by nature?
and what if "the norms" we learned as children were very different, in content than the norm learned, generally, today?
Posted by: David Anderson | 21 February 2007 at 05:58 AM
Jim: Interesting question. Maybe we'd be dealing with the "beta" and "psi" of reality instead.
Pavel: I was unfamiliar with this polymath. [To his later poems he applied an idiosyncratic theory that words containing the front vowel sounds E, I, YU should be used when depicting tender subjects, and those with back vowel sounds O, U, Y - to describe things that may cause fear ("like anger, envy, pain, and sorrow"). This theory is a version of what is known as sound symbolism. Lomonosov published his own history of Russia in 1760. Most of his accomplishments, however, were unknown outside Russia until long after his death.] Thanks for sharing.
Tom: I love it. That's a thought that will certainly get you through the day — or a very long night.
David: Lots o'good questions there. Probably a bit of "yes" to each of them!
Posted by: Roger von Oech | 22 February 2007 at 09:15 AM
What if the sun went out everyday at noon for one hour?
We could watch more sunsets and sunrises.
You could take your sweetheart out for a candlelite lunch.
Students could study the stars.
Take your friends snipe hunting.
View Christmas lights and fireworks during the day.
City workers could check for burned out lights.
Take a nap without closing the curtains.
Moonlight madness sales would pop up.
Drive-in movies would make a come back.
Watch the flowers bloom after lunch.
Posted by: Kevin Byington | 27 February 2007 at 08:16 PM
Have you spoken any Finnish? Its the worlds most phonetic language (I've believe). You can spell Finnish words exactly as they sound!
Posted by: Leke | 22 October 2007 at 12:12 AM
The Jews added the vowels to the Hebrew text between A|D 750 and AD 950 -- according to the editor of the Masoretic text -- Aaron Dotan.
These corruptors of thev Bible were calle, "Masoretes."
The beauty of Hebrew is that the vowels are "supplied" by the language being translated into. ARB = creating. LA = God.
MYHLA = Gods. MWDA = Lord. YNDA = Lord of [me].
BLA = mourning. BLH = the mourning.
LLH = praising. That is all the vowels we need. See: www.scribd.com
Search for free books: "Sid Williams."
Posted by: Sid Williams | 10 January 2011 at 05:40 PM
The Second Dark Ages (Satan Loosed A Little; Rev 20.3) was AD 1959-2004.
"Revival 2015" (Rev 20.10) is hastening on.
The Protestants and the Millennium (AD 1859 to Ever) taught: God lives! -- Today! -- on Earth!
All this happiness was taken from men in 1959 -- except the faithful.
Posted by: Sid Williams | 10 January 2011 at 05:45 PM