An intentionally blank page is a page that is devoid of content, and may be unexpected. Such pages may serve purposes ranging from place-holding to space-filling and content separation. Sometimes, these pages carry a notice such as, "This page is intentionally left blank." Such notices typically appear in printed works, such as legal documents, manuals and exam papers, in which the reader might otherwise suspect that the blank pages are due to a printing error and where missing pages might have serious consequences. The phrase is a self-refuting meta-reference, in that it falsifies itself by its very existence on the page in question.
An intentionally blank page is a brilliant metaphor.
What do you think of when you see them at the end of a book?
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3 comments:
I read a book on bookbinding one time so I have an idea of why the blank pages are there in the books you buy at the book store. But I always want to take notes on those pages. They are screaming to be written on. Even the blank pages in my Bible, I write on them: tables, charts, lists, color codes.
I've occasionally torn off a small piece of the blank pages in the back so my kids can spit out their gum.
Not the most noble or inspired use for an end page.
But very practical.
I also use the end pages to write myself reminders: people I need to get in touch with, books I want to look for at the library, that kind of thing.
Those blank end pages speak to me about the unwritten portions of our lives. The plot can go in a million different directions. It's a very hopeful thought.
Hey, that's a good metaphor for what our lives need...once a week a day that's "intentionally left blank."
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