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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread Page 1 of 2 1 2 immortal #66478 04/19/02 10:07 PM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 W wwh OP Carpal Tunnel OP wwh Carpal Tunnel W Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 What does "immortal" mean in this passage from New Scientist? "Whereas alcohol promotes risk taking like fast speeds and close following, cannabis promotes conservative driving, but may cause attention problems and misperceptions of time," says Nicholas Ward, technical advisor to the Immortal project -- a three year European Union trial designed to quantify the crash risk drivers face after taking various drugs and medicine. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: immortal #66479 04/20/02 12:36 AM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky Jackie Carpal Tunnel Jackie Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky Could it be a black-humor reference to the fate of the test drivers? [only half joking e] Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: immortal #66480 04/20/02 12:57 AM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 W wwh OP Carpal Tunnel OP wwh Carpal Tunnel W Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 Dear Jackie: when I first came to it, I thought perhaps it meant that the plan was to continue the study indefinitely. But the very next sentence says it is to run three years. I guess we have to wait for Rhuby or mav to tell us. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: immortal #66481 04/20/02 01:17 AM Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 2,891 B belMarduk Carpal Tunnel belMarduk Carpal Tunnel B Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 2,891 I would think it refers to the drivers. People who drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol don't think that they might die. "Nothing'll happen to me" "I'll be fine" It is the same psycological effect kids have in extreme sports. They don't believe they will die - without actually saying the words to themselves - they know they are immortal. Do we have any psychologists on board. I'm sure they could explain it better than me. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: immortal #66482 04/21/02 06:16 AM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 618 Australia D doc_comfort addict doc_comfort addict D Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 618 Australia Can it not be just the name of the project? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: immortal #66483 04/21/02 09:25 PM Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 4,757 M maverick Carpal Tunnel maverick Carpal Tunnel M Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 4,757 name of the project I don't think so - I tried a google on "immortal project EC" and variants and came up more or less as uninformed as I went in. But from a google on "immortal project" there does seem to be a strain of this phrase in use out there... it means nothing to me, I'm afraid Bill, but see if you can draw some linkage from the various references maybe? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: immortal #66484 04/21/02 10:29 PM Joined: Oct 2001 Posts: 1,385 P plutarch veteran plutarch veteran P Joined: Oct 2001 Posts: 1,385 they don't believe they will die Bullseye, BelMarduk. The belief that they are "immortal" (i.e 'it won't happen to me') is the psycho-social demographic which explains why insurance rates for male drivers under the age of 25 are stratospheric. It is, of course, a great irony of human nature that testosterone-driven males, who have the most to gain from life, are the most eager to wager it for absolutely nothing. The "immortal bard" understood this, wwh, as he understood most everything else about the human psyche. In the "7 stages" of life, he gives us the boy-warrior "seeking the bubble reputation even in the cannon's mouth". Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: immortal #66485 04/21/02 10:58 PM Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 4,757 M maverick Carpal Tunnel maverick Carpal Tunnel M Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 4,757 Bullseye… that they are "immortal" (EA) I’m still not convinced by that interpretation. When you see this kind of remark - the first complete series of county maps did not appear until Saxton's immortal project in the 1570's. – it clearly suggests the usage means something like “a piece of research so definitive as designed to last for ages, or to be immortal.” From the same site, btw, a lovely mention of an old shire name in the UK: SNOTINGAHAMSCIR, Snotinghamscire, Nottinghamshire: what's in a name? The answer can be a great deal of history. The earliest spelling dates from 1016, but records show that the town after which the shire was named existed as Snotengaham "the village of Snot's people" a century and a half earlier. Exactly who Snot was, we shall alas never know… I shall struggle to keep a straight face next time I talk to my Nottingham friends http://www.gwp.enta.net/nottarticle.htm Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: immortal #66486 04/21/02 11:13 PM Joined: Mar 2001 Posts: 4,189 Rio Grande, Cape May County, N... WhitmanO'Neill Carpal Tunnel WhitmanO'Neill Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2001 Posts: 4,189 Rio Grande, Cape May County, N... Bullseye… that they are "immortal" (EA) I think it may be alluding to the expression: "When you're young (or drunk) you think you're bulletproof." The Only WO'N! Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: immortal #66487 04/21/02 11:21 PM Joined: Oct 2001 Posts: 1,385 P plutarch veteran plutarch veteran P Joined: Oct 2001 Posts: 1,385 young or drunk = bulletproof Write-On, W'ON Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Page 1 of 2 1 2 Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. 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