What do you think of this principle? Do you think of the distribution of words when you write? Are you going to use the word 'quizzaciously' from now on?
Unsurprising. Interesting, but unsurprising, from what I understand
of the human brain. (
The stuff you learn when you research things for
a gender guide...)
Humans are pattern-seeking animals. We developed this evolutionary capacity likely for
a couple reasons.
- It uses less of the brain to seek familiar patterns than to attempt to understand something we've never witnessed before, allowing other functions of the brain to operate simultaneously and with greater resources.
- It was a useful survival mechanism to instinctively spot characteristics--like faces--among dense foliage or other terrain that could warn us of an incoming predator or competitor.
Humans as animals are also quite fond
of symmetrical patterns as
a basic instinct, though
the reasons why are something
of a mystery. (It may have something
to do with diseases, or
the modern advent
of beauty products.)
Combine
the two
and it goes
a long way
to explaining
the patterns
of languages. Things like: An English sentence must always contain
a subject
and a verb. Independent Clause, Dependent Clause. FANBOYS.
Some languages, like Mandarin, use
the tone
of one's voice
to speak different meanings with
the same word. English overlaps pronunciation
of some words verbally that are written differently. (Ex:
to, two, too.)
It's all about patterns, subconscious patterns, that--combined with how
the English language works--filter into
a general tone.
A writer's voice. It shouldn't be surprising that words like "
THE" consistently end up in
the top 10, considering how integral they are
to our language. Combine with our penchant for pattern recognition
and symmetry
and we're likely more attracted
to books
and articles which have
a symmetrical mathematical pattern we can subconsciously pick up on.
That's my two cents anyway.
The: 13.
Of: 10.
To: 10.
A: 8.
And: 6.
Such is language.