Nancy Matos

Reader Question: have a method to your madness

“You may have a method to your madness and know where everything is. You probably do not need all of your old outdated data.”

Could you explain “have a method to your madness”?

My comments: When someone says you “have a method to your madness”, it means although the actions you are taking may seem strange, they are in fact effective. This can come up in many situations, like how a boss runs his/her office or a student’s different study methods.

For example, imagine walking into a student’s dormitory and seeing notes taped all over certain objects in the room, stating “l(fā)amp”, “desk”, “bed”, “closet”, etc. The scene may be “madness” at first glance, but the student is in fact studying for an English test and the notes scattered about are a helpful “method” to learn and memorize English words.

The often quoted William Shakespeare used the phrase in his play “Hamlet”, uttered by Polonius in Act II, Scene II:

"Though this be madness yet there is method in it”.

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Nancy Matos is a foreign expert at China Daily Website. Born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, Nancy is a graduate of the Broadcast Journalism and Media program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Her journalism career in broadcast and print has taken her around the world from New York to Portugal and now Beijing. Nancy is happy to make the move to China and join the China Daily team.