The Creative Art of Wittering

14563308480_efbb735c1d_owitter verb (wittered, wittering) intrans (usually witter on) to talk or mutter ceaselessly and ineffectually.
ETYMOLOGY: 19c: probably a variant of whitter to chatter. Chambers Online Dictionary

It’s hard to know when rhizomatic learning is appropriate. On the one hand, when the community is the only curriculum then there does seem to be a real danger of inexperienced learners coming up with some awful nonsense – but on the other hand there is the serendipity of making new connections when learners are allowed to let their thoughts roam freely.

This week I met with both my supervisors. We were chatting, about stuff, and towards the end Fiona exclaimed with surprise that we’d really made progress.  A seemingly unfocussed conversation had actually been circling around a cluster of issues that are core to my thesis, and which I had not realised were connected.

That’s the creative art of wittering 🙂

flickr photo by Internet Archive Book Images http://flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14563308480 shared with no copyright restriction (Flickr Commons)

 

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5 Responses to The Creative Art of Wittering

  1. charlenedoland57 says:

    You’ve added to my vocabulary! I don’t think I’ve ever encountered “witter” or “wittering” before. I have observed that wittering is OFTEN effective. When we use someone as a sounding board, oftentimes the solution to our problem or puzzle comes to us as we are explaining it to the other person(s).

  2. tellio says:

    The similar word “nattering” is one I am familiar with. To natter on is to keep chatting away with no apparent purpose.

    • NomadWarMachine says:

      Yes, that’s similar. I thinl, though, that I associate nattering as a conversation, whereas wittering can be a monologue.

  3. dogtrax says:

    I witter, a lot.
    I also whittle ideas into shape.
    Sometimes, I wither, too.
    :0
    Kevin

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