A Misunderstanding of Words
and, a matter of interpretation
Whatever word we use, it means something — and, what the word means to us can be interpreted completely differently by someone else.
Any word.
Including the word: “Word.”
If we are looking for stability, it can be disconcerting to find words do not give the same output every time.
A question to ponder for later: “How do we cope when words vary in meaning?”
A bane of my existence has been the phrase “use your words“.
We can’t use our words if we don’t have them. (Or if what we perceive as words are not perceived as words by others.)
The phrase “Use Your Words” incorporates a number of biases. Three of which are: words are letters and symbols; AND the letters and symbols are either written or spoken, AND the letters and symbols correspond to the same letters that are written spoken by others.
We can’t use our words if we don’t have any that correspond to what others perceive as words.
We can’t use our words if someone else doesn’t understand them.
We can’t use the words of someone else if we don’t understand those words.
Does the word “bias” stimulate an uncomfortable reaction?
Consider, instead, using the word “perception”.
Words (defined1 for this moment, in this post, as expressions being made of symbols and letters) mean something different to each of us. We learn the meaning of letters and symbols as we experience our world. We are not born with the meaning of letters and symbols as a built-in vocabulary.
Questions we can ask ourselves:
Where do symbols and letters come from?
How do we learn letters and symbols?
Who assigns specific meaning to symbols and letters?
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How do you define words?