A palindrome is a word, line, verse, number, sentence, etc., reading the same backward as forward, as Madam, I’m Adam or Poor Dan is in a droop [From http://www.dictionary.com]. The term ‘palindrome’ was, apparently, coined by English writer, Ben Jonson in the 1600’s [www.helium.com].
These words are, deliberately, dyslexic however read correctly. The Palindrome principle has been applied to mathematics, with amazing, predictable patterns. Scott Kim, Ph.D. applies this to his designs of symbols (ambigrams), where words read the same, despite being upside-down. Here is an example of his design and fascinating brain:
This principle has been explored in the bestselling novel, ‘The Da Vinci Code’.
In nature, the sequence of nucleotides on the ‘double-helix’ DNA ‘ladder’ is a palindrome of each other, on the ‘rungs’ (inverted, complementary strand). The DNA follows the way the amino acids, GCAT, are arranged. So, GAATTC is a palindrome of CTTAAG. In nature, we have optical isomers, noted by the D- or L- forms of vitamins. That is why our bodies can still absorb synthetic vitamins.
Examples of palindromic words include:
Mom
Pop
Dad
Hannah (name)
Madam
Wow!
Ewe
Tenet
Examples of palindromes in some established brands:
Aviva
OTO
Abba
Honda CIVIC
M&M
AXA
There is a certain attractiveness to palindromes – they are symmetrical and balanced, like an image in the mirror. It is also a creative way to exercise your brain. The other nice thing about palindromic words is that you can be dyslexic and get away with it.
Do you know of any other palindromes? The next time you encounter an interesting sounding word, that looks like a mirror-image, it might be a palindrome. Start observing – you might notice more than you actually did.
Enrico Varella is the editor and writer of the daily blog, Leadership lessons from Triathlons at http://lead2tri.blogspot.com.
Tags: Palindrome