02 May 2007

The Reverse Dictionary, or My Stupidest Idea Ever

Husband recently purchased computer Scrabble. It was so cute the way he tried to do it without me knowing even though I was sitting next to him on the couch. That's okay, though. I'm currently downloading a cd from itunes without his permission. But the financial rules of marriage are not why I am writing. I'm writing about computer Scrabble. Computer Scrabble has turned out to be a purchase I approve of (unlike the Jimmy Buffet cd I just purchased, which he will definitely not approve of). I'm enjoying computer Scrabble. I don't need both hands to play, I can play while Baby is eating, and I learn new words. The only problem is that I suck at it. I've always sucked at Scrabble. I'm so insecure about my Scrabble abilities that I almost never play. Now that we've got it on the computer, however, nobody can see how bad I am. I think my problem is a cognitive one and has something to do with the way I learn. I can't see words when the letters are not in order or there are gaps in them. I have the same problem with unscrambling words and crossword puzzles.
So I came up with a brilliant idea. Someone who's not me should create a reverse dictionary. It would work like this: instead of being ordered by the letters words start with, it would be ordered by the letters words end with. So the first section would be words that end with the letter a. Within each section the words would be in regular alphabetical order. So, for example, since the word lab would be in the b section rather than the l section since it ends with b.
I told my idea to Husband and my mother over dinner the other night. After they stopped laughing at me, he said, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." He says that a lot when I have brilliant ideas. My genius is not appreciated.
I stand by my idea. I'm sure I'm not the only person this would benefit. We could even have a series-second letters, third letters, etc. According to Tobias Funke, "There are dozens of us out there. Dozens!"

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