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correct use of irony
valtzy
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'm writing a paper and I've hit a snag:
"Aluminum is the most abundant metal present in the Earth. In a rare case of irony, it has absolutely no known physiological function and is consequently involved in a number of diseases and conditions such as Alzheimer’s, breast cancer, and impaired renal function. "
It seems like this is more of a coincidence than irony. But I want it to be ironic because it it's on the tipping point of it being irony (and it is absolutely rare to find an actual case of actual irony).
My reasoning for it being ironic is that abundant elements are generally usable by the human body such as oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, sulfur etc. One would think that such a daily exposure to aluminum would imply that over the eons our body would have evolved some sort of physiological use for it, which it hasn't, at all.
However, having to explain all of this makes it seem less ironic as it is not immediately noticeable and sort of takes the punch out of the statement.
SO, is it irony, or at least some form of irony?
"Aluminum is the most abundant metal present in the Earth. In a rare case of irony, it has absolutely no known physiological function and is consequently involved in a number of diseases and conditions such as Alzheimer’s, breast cancer, and impaired renal function. "
It seems like this is more of a coincidence than irony. But I want it to be ironic because it it's on the tipping point of it being irony (and it is absolutely rare to find an actual case of actual irony).
My reasoning for it being ironic is that abundant elements are generally usable by the human body such as oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, sulfur etc. One would think that such a daily exposure to aluminum would imply that over the eons our body would have evolved some sort of physiological use for it, which it hasn't, at all.
However, having to explain all of this makes it seem less ironic as it is not immediately noticeable and sort of takes the punch out of the statement.
SO, is it irony, or at least some form of irony?
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For instance, imagine how bad you would smell if not for Aluminum.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiperspirant
And when it's rainin' on my wedding daaay hay haaaaay~
The use of words expressing something other than their literal intention. Now that is irony!
Look at the wikipedia entrance for irony. A lot of people seem to think that the only true form of irony is sarcasm; don't listen to them, they don't know what they're talking about.
thank you
One definition of irony is "an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected."
Might you expect aluminum to be used by the human body, especially given its abundance? Sure. Is it? No. 1+2 = irony.
That's pretty awesome
"While most of Earth's abundant elements are useful and even vital to sustaining life, in rare case of irony, Aluminum has absolutely no known physiological function and is consequently involved in a number of diseases and conditions such as Alzheimer’s, breast cancer, and impaired renal function. "
The entire thing was:
Aluminum is the most abundant element present in the Earth’s crust. Generally, abundant elements are able to be utilized by the human body whether in trace amounts or fully incorporated into various structures. In a rare case of irony, it has absolutely no known physiological function and is consequently involved in a number of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, breast cancer, and impaired renal function. However, in a bizarre twist, it is also involved in an enormous amount of vaccinations through the use of adjuvants. The purpose of this seminar is two-fold: to expand upon the neurotoxicity and degenerative effects of aluminum and to elucidate the current mechanism of aluminum adjuvants on the human body.
As for aluminum being linked to Alzheimer's and breast cancer, there is a lot of conjecture surrounding Aluminum's involvement, but most of it is "it's there, when cancer's there and it's awfully convenient seeing as Al's genotoxic and carcinogenic." I wouldn't say it's a definitive link, but it's awfully close.
As for it being a 'rare case' of irony, irony is constantly being misused and an actual, true case of it is rarely seen.
EDIT: well, i added the qualifier before I saw wasted pixel's post, thanks though!
or if the word 'irony' was actually named after tin
edit: don't say a 'rare case of irony'. it may be rare that the term is used correctly, but that doesn't mean ironic things aren't happening all the time
Your lyrics lack subtility! You can't just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!
I love that quote.
the irony is not in the fact that aluminum is not used by the body; it's in the fact that although it is such an overwhelming part of our daily lives, it is actually linked to serious physical ailments.
Not going to pretend its mine, but i saw a stand up comic once who correctly pointed out that the only irony in Alanis Morrissette's song is that she didnt actually demonstrate a single case of irony.
Rain on your wedding day? Not ironic. Unless you're a meteoroligist, and you picked the day.
A traffic jam when you're already late? Nope, unless you were the town planner on your way to make a speech on how you've improved traffic flow.
It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife? Nope, and this is just fucking stupid.
God i hate that song.
How is it being involved in those diseases a consequence of it having no known physiological function?
Aluminum is the most abundant element present in the Earth’s crust. It is ubiquitous in modern, industrialized society and pervades our daily lives. Ironically, this omnipresent element is involved in a number of diseases and conditions such as Alzheimer’s, breast cancer, and impaired renal function. It has absolutely no known innate physiological function. However, in a bizarre twist, it is also involved in an enormous amount of vaccinations through the use of adjuvants. The purpose of this seminar is two-fold: to expand upon the neurotoxicity and degenerative effects of aluminum and to elucidate the current mechanism of aluminum adjuvants on the human body.
also, consequently is used wrong in the original paragraph, my bad.
edit: aaaand beat'n.
Ed Byrne I believe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT1TVSTkAXg
edit: also, there is nothing ironic about "Ironically, this omnipresent element is involved... "
that sounds a lot better. try replacing the first "involved" with "linked to" and the second "involved" with a word like "utilized" though. it's not quite the right word to use for what you're wanting to say.
You're using a lot of $5 words...is that how you really talk? If it is, cool, if not, write in your own voice. That paragraph kind of reads like a thesaurus wrote it.
Also, your basic premise is factually wrong. Oxygen and silicon (in the form of silicate minerals) are the two most common elements in the earth's crust.
and after double checking the wikipedia page for aluminum, i am inclined to believe you and amend that particular fact.
It gests the point across and they are generally correct in use.
I would probably say that the use of the word irony is a little forced - perhaps something like 'oddly enough' rather than 'ironically' because I always thought that the point of irony was intent - there usually is an actor who is doing one thing, with the other consequence occurring.
In this case, there isn't any actor per se - so who is it ironic for?
Humans in general, I guess. But even still, it's unusual terminology.
I still dont find this to be ironic. Just because its common, but happens to be linked to some serious diseases, doesnt make it ironic. If it was a major construction component of a facility for people with alzheimers and was selected primarily for its safe properties, then we learned it causes alzheimers, that would be ironic.
Its everywhere, but it happens to be bad for us? Not ironic, just bad luck.
On a related tangent, i had no idea aluminium had been linked to any diseases/conditions! Source?
Rook - Yes! Ed Byrne! Went and saw him a few years ago, he was fantastic.
There was a study awhile back about anti-perspirants being possibly linked to breast cancer, but the methodology of the study was extremely poor and subsequent studies have shown there's no increased risk factor. It was thought to be possibly linked to Alzheimers but again, further studies haven't backed this up and there's no causal relationship.
As for kidneys, in massive quantities, or if you have a defect in your ability to deal with aluminium it can impair function, but in these super high doses pretty much everything is toxic so it's not much of a surprise.
It's not at all accurate to say Aluminium is irony.
(how ironic)
oh god, please kill me