​This week, host Craig Chapman turns his analytical focus toward the ultimate structure: The Dictionary. This episode ignores the literary merit and instead analyzes the dictionary as a colossal, yet perpetually flawed, organizational system.

​We break down the historical chaos of inconsistent spelling and definition, and examine Samuel Johnson's monumental 18th-century attempt to lock the language down with permanent rules. Was this massive data-collection project doomed from the start? We dissect the system's greatest flaw: the inevitable problem of time—the static book trying to contain a moving, fluid system. A noble effort, but ultimately a losing battle against the unstoppable force of change.

​Contact the Program:

If you have an uninteresting structure or system that requires our rigorous analysis, contact the program at: [email protected] or visit our predictably functional website at www.nowthatsnotaveryinterestingpodcast.co.uk.

​#Dictionary #Linguistics #OrganizationalFailure #HistoryOfBooks #Rules #SystemsAnalysis #LanguageHistory #MundaneFacts