What the hell is this creature? Cross between a dingo and a drop bear?

(Reminiscences of Australia, 1846)

Centrists right now be all like

But at critical moments they get elevated by powerful morons, and they can cause extraordinary damage. 2/

An explanatory quotation from page 83

Including whatever this is ...

There are more such diagrams....

Wild illustration from F. M. van Helmont's 'Alphabeti vere naturali Hebraici' (1657), attempting to demonstrate that Hebrew letters are derived from their places of articulation in the mouth. This is 'alef' א

AI enshittifies Apple support

"Uma worshipping Shiva" is an image of a woman writing on palm leaves. Pahari, Kangra, late 18th century. At CSMVS, Mumbai.

UK to USA chart of crochet terminology and symbols.

It makes me think of numeric notation systems in which the oral realisation is variable according to the language while the graphic representation remains constant.

Also: some signs are iconically motivated, others not at all.

A super useful book with a glaring typo in the title. (But the error makes it easier to find in a catalogue or in reference managing software)