I looked down and saw this.

A praying mantis.

When their forelimbs are folded, mantises look as if they’re praying. This one looks to be a young insect who looks more interested in looking around than praying. Things may change with time.

Mantises have been around for a long time. Over 2,300 years ago, the Chinese described the Mantis in the Erya, one of the oldest of their dictionaries. It wasn’t until 1838, however, that the praying insect was knighted the “mantis.” In that year, the German entomologist Hermann Burmeister was observing the insect in prayer with those big eyes and thoughtful turn of the head. Hermann thought to himself, “What is that little fellow seeing? That’s it, he’s a seer, a prophet. He’s looking into the future. I will call you ‘mantis’ for the Greek word for prophet or seer, because that is what you are.” The name stuck. The praying insect became the praying mantis.

Praying mantises are predators, pretty ferocious predators. There is a story of a large mantis taking on a gecko in an even match. Because of this predatory behavior, a eggcorn resulted. To the linguistic realm, “eggcorn” is a relatively new addition. In September 2003, the linguist Geoffrey Pullum, now at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, invented the term for the diction of a woman who substituted the word “egg corn” for “acorn.” She saw a egg-corn acorn and said “egg corn.” The words sounded alike and meant the same nut to her, and she didn’t even notice she’d made the linguistic switch-up. That’s what happened with our pugilistic praying insect. A child saw a mantis chasing another insect and screamed, “Mommy, Mommy, look, a preying mantis.” An eggcorn was born as the mantis sought its prey.

People, like mantises, seek their prey, the good life; and, like mantises, we often pray to achieve that life.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a measure of the good life of a country and its people. The top four countries or regions currently with the highest GDP are: 1. European Union, 2. United States, 3. China, and 4. Japan. With time, the names will change as others chase to the top and excel at what they’re doing. To do that, three things are required: 1. People (the more the merrier), 2. Ideas (the more the merrier), and 3. Laws (just enough and not too many). People (domestic and foreign) are a measure of demand — the available consumptive power. Ideas are a measure of supply — new ideas create new and better products. Laws (here and there) are a measure of market — the friendliness and compatibility of the working environment. To grow the gross, all three are required.

There are some great new ideas at work out there today. Perhaps the top three for our current “now” are: 1. The Internet of Things; 2. Big Data being generated by the Internet of Things; and 3. New Ideas and New Products from the Big Data being generated by the Internet of Things. These are truly exciting times.

The trick is to keep your eye on the target. You know you’re lined up when you see the black spot. See it there on the praying mantis’ eye.

That’s the “pseudo-pupil.” It’s not a pupil at all. It is the exact spot on the eye that is looking right back at you and saying, “I see you.” The mantis is fully focused and is directly absorbing your incident light. When that alignment occurs, the black spot appears to signal “on target.” You begin to see why the mantis is so effective at what it does. Preying and praying, the mantis keeps it focus on target.

Grandpa Jim