Word: sheerly
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...stunning revelations are likely; a strong motive for trekking to Winnipeg is the sheer fun−or, as one scientist says, "the orgasmic experience"−of eclipse watching. But the scientists do follow in a distinguished tradition. It was during an eclipse in 1761 that scientists discovered the dense atmosphere of Venus; at such times the inner planet is higher in the sky, letting astronomers see it through less of the earth's atmosphere. Helium was found in the sun during an 1868 eclipse. And in 1919, British scientists measured the bending of starlight by solar gravity, thus providing...
Carter's work habits have changed markedly, however. He once labored almost every night after dinner, as if sheer doggedness would solve the nation's problems. Now he is more likely to quit at tea time. Says Rosalynn Carter: "Around 4:30 Jimmy will come in and say, 'You ready to jog?' or 'Let's play tennis.' " A book or movie often takes up the evening hours until his 10:30 bedtime. He still begins work at dawn...
...sheer immensity of the amount may be partly to blame. Bo Cutter, the man from the Office of Management and Budget who directs the preparation of the budget, has made it a point to remind his staff repeatedly that a million dollars is a lot of money. In the hundreds-of-billions environment, a million dollars can be lost like a rolling penny heading for a sewer grate. Cutter has had his staff calculate some other reminders: a million dollars' worth of quarters stands almost as high as Mount Everest; the number of stacked quarters in this year...
...nonsense reporters and respected critics were assigned the beat, and sharp, analytical commentary soon came to the TV page. Critics like Tom Shales, 33, of the Washington Post, and Marvin Kitman, 49, of Newsday, are masters of the lampoon. The new breed can also level their targets with sheer ferocity. One recent example from the Boston Globe's William A. Henry III: "RKO General has run Channel 7 with such greed, arrogance and contempt for the people of Boston that we all ought to stop watching...
...question for philosophers and religionists, not for scientists." Adds Geoffrey Burbidge, director of Kitt Peak National Observatory: "Principles and concepts cannot be measured. A question like 'Who imposed the order?' is metaphysical." Still, virtually everyone -both scientists and laymen-is taken by the sheer unthinkable opacity of the creation and what preceded it. Says Jastrow: "The question of what came before the Big Bang is the most interesting question...