Word: discern
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Kubota's bats have won such a following because of his innate knowledge of the character of wood. He can discern the weight, pliancy and even the width of the rings of a piece of wood by look, feel or the knocking sound it makes. He can harvest a dozen or so promising blocks out of a thousand he might examine--and then transform them...
...books […] to a discreet and judicious reader serve in many respects to discover, to confute, to forewarn, and to illustrate.” All people, regardless of geographic and cultural bias, have a basic capacity for reason; governments should leave it to their citizens to discern between the true, the absurd, and the erroneous. Freedom of speech—which includes the right to seek truth by forming opinions of others’ freely-expressed thoughts—is a right fundamental to every person, regardless of his or her nationality. Cutting off Pakistan?...
...economic effects of the Short March are the easiest to discern. Others - political, social - are like aftershocks of an earthquake: you know they are coming, even if you're not quite sure when, or exactly how powerful, they will be. One, I'm certain, will be environmental. New Songjiang is supposed to be linked, by 2010, to central Shanghai when a spur on the light-rail system is completed...
This raises an unsettling question: does a minority have to “act white” to get elected? As is the case with many politicians, it’s hard to discern Jindal’s genuine beliefs from statements designed to cater to the average Louisiana voter. Although his broad platform promise to “end corruption in Louisiana” is universally appealing, you can bet that the more extreme viewpoints he dishes up to white Republicans get omitted from the soothing “heritage” speeches he gives at Indian-American fundraising...
...Antenna aquiver for false notes, she checks in at the abortion clinic and doesn't like its casually clinical attitude. This kid can hear false notes pitched too high for most human ears to discern. So she checks out the alternative press and finds an ad placed by a couple seeking adoption. The Lorings (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman) are rich, welcoming and ostensibly eager for the fulfillment their biology has denied them. OK, she's a little uptight, and underneath his charm there's something elusive about him. But still, given the limited alternatives available to Juno they qualify...