*Безымянная овца

Here in the twenty-first century we’re surrounded by proof that we tend to live our stories. As I brought this section to close, one last synchronicity directed my attention to an article in New Scientist’s February 12, 2011, issue about work of William Casebeer of the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), based in Arlington, Virginia. Casebeer, a neurobiologist, goes so far as to suggest that certain narratives are as addictive as cocaine, commenting on the effects a compelling yarn might have upon the minds of enemy soldiers or suicide bombers. He is convinced that we should be investigating the military potential of stories, by creating “counter-narrative strategies” engineered to undermine or oppose the religious or political storylines that inspire war, oppression, and greed.

We may scoff and leave it to military experts to develop a technology whereby a cadet is told a story so convincing he believes he’s superhuman before a battle, but I’d like to think that magic words and spells belong to the rest of us as well. If Pico is correct, we can write new lives and new futures, and, more important, live them. Stories can break hearts or foment revolutions. Words can put electricity into our hearts or make our blood run cold. And the idea of Superman is every bit as real as the idea of God.

Worrying about words might seem like a trifle, but from an interface design standpoint words are everything. If there is one thing I’ve learned as an interface designer, it’s that words are absolutely the most important part of interface design. If you don’t have the right words on the screen, you better hope you’re building a porn site.

На нежелательные вопросы, требующие немедленного ответа «Тебя *бёт?!», есть замечательная албанская фраза: «Вам, сударь, какая печаль?».

Целый ряд идиоматических выражений типа: «*б твою мать» и «ну ни*уя себе ты купила» заменяется фразой: «Больно слышать», произносимой с шекспировским трагизмом.

В ходе научного спора, аргумент «Я тебе сейчас в табло закатаю!» по правилам албанской грамматики необходимо заменить фразой: «Голубчик, не утруждайте себя в поисках профанаций».

Часто мы просим друзей и родных: «Вась, сгоняй кабанчиком за хлебом». Это неправильно. Просить об одолжении по-албански необходимо так: «Дружище, да не будет тебе в тягость…» и далее по тексту.