Word nerdism #1: Make mine a medium

I am a word nerd, I love crosswords and love to wonder how words and expressions come to be. I also love thinking about computer languages as languages, with style and grammar. (For example, see the interplay between terseness and readability.)

I got to thinking about the word medium. We talk about medium as in, I’ll have a medium soda. We also talk about media like radio and television. Different meanings, right?

It occurred to me that these two usages are precisely the same. The medium soda is the one in between large and small. And media, like radio, are the things in between the communicator and the listener. Oh, and if you want someone to stand between you and the spirit world, you can always hire a medium.

(I am also amazed at how easily people will accept an idea as long as its alliterative. The medium is not the message, in my experience. If someone tells you it is, they’re in the business of selling media.)