Tags
articles, columnists, context, meaning, news, practice, ubiquitous, words
u·biq·ui·tous /yuˈbɪkwɪtəs/ Show Spelled[yoo-bik-wi-tuhs] Show IPA
adjective
existing or being everywhere, especially at the same time; omnipresent: ubiquitous fog; ubiquitous little ants.
I read an article this morning which discussed yesterday’s blog topic – Steve Cooksey’s Lawsuit against North Carolina Dietitians. Paul Sherman at Law dot Com writes
There is perhaps no kind of advice more ubiquitous than dietary advice, and our general societal presumption is that competent adults are fully capable of weighing conflicting dietary advice and deciding for themselves what to eat. That’s why Cooksey has joined with the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit, public interest law firm to challenge the North Carolina Board of Dietetics/Nutrition’s attempt to silence his speech.
He argues that food is too common, and dietary advice cannot be regulated. Does this mean that only rare advice need be regulated? Should all rare advice be regulated? Slippery slopes.
I realized after reading this article that this word ubiquitous is a word I’ve rarely used. It might even be a word I’ve never used. It’s not a new word for me, but it’s not a familiar one. So how does one become familiar with a word? I decided to search for more recent articles using it.
How Pretty Things Beer became ubiquitous in Boston
Devra First finds an interesting context for the word. She seems to say that “Pretty Things,” a micro-brewery, is now ubiquitous and that’s a good thing. The article says they are considered the best micro-brewery in town and every pub carries their products. I think of ubiquitous as being common in terms of quality, mundane. This isn’t so. Quality is not part of the word’s meaning. It only refers to quantity. An important lesson.
Help: We’re losing it here
The subtitle states The gunfire in our city seemed so ubiquitous it felt more like it could strike anyone, anywhere, at any time.
The columnist, Danny Westneat, writes about two incidents: a public shooting where five were hit and at the same time a school was locked up because students saw a man with a gun outside – he was a jogger armed for self defense because of shootings.
At the end he writes
Mayor, police chief: This is the mood of the city. Joggers are packing heat. Moms of toddlers are contemplating arming up or heading out of town.
It’s insane, yes. We are losing it. Can you blame us?
In this column firearms are becoming ubiquitous and people are getting scared. Ubiquitous negatives create much tension and strife.
Here are some more articles I found. Enjoy this word exploration some more. It’s use seems fairly ubiquitous!
The Ubuiquitous US “Zombie Job” Market