A Lunar Tangent

lunacy moon

 

Dear Plato,

Written response to a phrase http://www.platosgroove.com/?p=1255
“Soul extended, seeking to touch the moon, always out of reach, lunacy”

My brain latches on to a word,
then goes off the beaten path with it.
Lunacy. Cyclic.
Tide affecting. Birth inducing.
Psyche ward filling lunar power.

Schools have issues with children
on days of the the full moon
Labor and delivery wards are full
Psychiatric wards have their hands full

We are just bags of water.
Or, is it just my lunacy that makes
me believe in the powerpull of the moon?

Definition: lunacy |ˈlo͞onəsē|
noun ( pl. lunacies )
the state of being a lunatic; insanity (not in technical use): it has been suggested that originality demands a degree of lunacy.
• extreme folly or eccentricity: such an economic policy would be sheer lunacy.
ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (originally referring to insanity of an intermittent kind attributed to changes of the moon): from lunatic + -acy.

Debunking lunacy: http://www.livescience.com/7899-moon-myths-truth-lunar-effects.html
“If police and doctors are expecting that full moon nights will be more hectic, they may interpret an ordinary night’s traumas and crises as more extreme than usual,” explains our Bad Science Columnist Benjamin Radford. “Our expectations influence our perceptions, and we look for evidence that confirms our beliefs.”

And that leads to this final note, which is perhaps the biggest logical nail in the coffin of the moon madness myths:

The highest tides occur not just at full moon but also at new moon, when the moon is between Earth and the sun (and we cannot see the moon) and our planet feels the combined gravitational effect of these two objects. Yet nobody ever claims any funny stuff related to the new moon (except for the fact that there is more beach pollution at full and new moon …).”

lunatic

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lunaticEtymology

From Old French lunatique, from Late Latin lunaticus (“moonstruck”), derived from Latin luna (“moon”).

Noun

lunatic (plural lunatics)

1. An insane person.

Synonyms

• moonling
• See also Wikisaurus:mad person

Translations

[show ▼]insane person

Adjective

lunatic (comparative more lunatic, superlative most lunatic)

1. crazed, mad, insane, demented

Synonyms

• crazed, insane, mad, demented, maniacal, psychotic, crazed; see also Wikisaurus:insane

Translations

[show ▼]crazed

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Romanian

Etymology 1

From Latin lūnāticus.

Alternative forms

• lunatec

Noun

lunatic m (plural lunatici)

1. somnambulist, sleepwalker
2. (rare) dullard, fool, scatterbrain

Synonyms

• (sleepwalker): somnambul, somnambulist, noctambul
• (fool): prostănac, cretin

Adjective

lunatic

1. (popular, rare) born in the same month as another

Related terms

• lună

Etymology 2

From French lunatique, Italian lunatico.

Adjective

lunatic

1. (rare) having hallucinations
2. (rare) fantastic, unreal, bizarre
3. having unusual or strange ideas and behavior
4. (rare) fearful

See also

• zăpăcit

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