Nonsense is a communication, via speech, writing, or any other symbolic system,

that lacks any coherent meaning. Sometimes in ordinary usage, nonsense is synony
mous with absurdity or the ridiculous. Many poets, novelists and songwriters hav
e used nonsense in their works, often creating entire works using it for reasons
ranging from pure comic amusement or satire, to illustrating a point about lang
uage or reasoning. In the philosophy of language and philosophy of science, nons
ense is distinguished from sense or meaningfulness, and attempts have been made
to come up with a coherent and consistent method of distinguishing sense from no
nsense. It is also an important field of study in cryptography regarding separat
ing a signal from noise.
Contents [hide]
1
Literary nonsense
1.1
Nonsense verse
1.1.1 Examples
2
Philosophy of language and of science
2.1
Logical positivism
2.2
Wittgenstein
3
Cryptography
4
Teaching machines to talk nonsense
5
See also
6
Notes
7
References
8
External links
Literary nonsense[edit]
A Book of Nonsense (c. 1875 James Miller edition) by Edward Lear
Main article: Literary nonsense
The phrase "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously" was coined by Noam Chomsky as
an example of nonsense. However, this can be easily confused with poetic symbol
ism. The individual words make sense and are arranged according to proper gramma
tical rules, yet the result is nonsense. The inspiration for this attempt at cre
ating verbal nonsense came from the idea of contradiction and seemingly irreleva
nt and/or incompatible characteristics, which conspire to make the phrase meanin
gless, but is open to interpretation. The phrase "the square root of Tuesday" (n
ot a similar example; the lemondrop sunshine is more comparable)[vague] operates
on the latter principle. This principle is behind the inscrutability of the koa
n "What is the sound of one hand clapping?", where one hand would presumably be
insufficient for clapping without the intervention of another.
James Joyce s final
nd strong words, it
in many passages it
a text could be the

novel Finnegans Wake also uses nonsense: full of portmanteau a

appears to be pregnant with multiple layers of meaning, but
is difficult to say whether any one human s interpretation of
intended or unintended one.

Nonsense verse[edit]
Jabberwocky, a poem (of nonsense verse) found in Through the Looking-Glass, and
What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll (1871), is a nonsense poem written in th
e English language. The word jabberwocky is also occasionally used as a synonym
of nonsense.[1]
Nonsense verse is the verse form of literary nonsense, a genre that can manifest
in many other ways. Its best-known exponent is Edward Lear, author of The Owl a
nd the Pussycat and hundreds of limericks.
Nonsense verse is part of a long line of tradition predating Lear: the nursery r
hyme Hey Diddle Diddle could also be termed a nonsense verse. There are also som
e works which appear to be nonsense verse, but actually are not, such as the pop
ular 1940s song Mairzy Doats.

Lewis Carroll, seeking a nonsense riddle, once posed the question How is a raven
like a writing desk?. Someone answered him, Because Poe wrote on both. However,
there are other possible answers (e.g. both have inky quills).
Lines of nonsense frequently figure in the refrains of folksongs, where nonsense
riddles and knock-knock jokes are often encountered.
Examples[edit]
The first verse of Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll;
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
The first four lines of On the Ning Nang Nong by Spike Milligan;[2]
On the Ning Nang Nong
Where the cows go Bong!
and the monkeys all say BOO!
There's a Nong Nang Ning
The first verse of Spirk Troll-Derisive by James Whitcomb Riley;[3]
The Crankadox leaned o'er the edge of the moon,
And wistfully gazed on the sea
Where the Gryxabodill madly whistled a tune
To the air of "Ti-fol-de-ding-dee."
The first four lines of The Mayor of Scuttleton by Mary Mapes Dodge;[3]
The Mayor of Scuttleton burned his nose
Trying to warm his copper toes;
He lost his money and spoiled his will
By signing his name with an icicle quill;
The first four lines of Oh Freddled Gruntbuggly by Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz; a cre
ation of Douglas Adams
Oh freddled gruntbuggly,
Thy micturations are to me
As plurdled gabbleblotchits on a lurgid bee.
Groop I implore thee, my foonting turlingdromes
Philosophy of language and of science[edit]
Further information: Sense
In the philosophy of language and the philosophy of science, nonsense refers to
a lack of sense or meaning. Different technical definitions of meaning delineate
sense from nonsense.
Logical positivism[edit]
Further information: Logical positivism
Wittgenstein[edit]
Further information: Ludwig Wittgenstein
In Ludwig Wittgenstein's writings, the word "nonsense" carries a special technic
al meaning which differs significantly from the normal use of the word. In this
sense, "nonsense" does not refer to meaningless gibberish, but rather to the lac
k of sense in the context of sense and reference. In this context, logical tauto
logies, and purely mathematical propositions may be regarded as "nonsense". For
example, "1+1=2" is a nonsensical proposition.[4] Wittgenstein wrote in Tractatu

s Logico Philosophicus that some of the propositions contained in his own book s
hould be regarded as nonsense.[5] Used in this way, "nonsense" does not necessar
ily carry negative connotations.
Starting from Wittgenstein, but through an original perspective, the Italian phi
losopher Leonardo Vittorio Arena, in his book Nonsense as the meaning, highlight
s this positive meaning of nonsense to undermine every philosophical conception
which does not take note of the absolute lack of meaning of the world and life.
Nonsense implies the destruction of all views or opinions, on the wake of the In
dian Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna. In the name of nonsense, it